Embrace the Enemy
by ConsumedHatred
Summary: When Ichigo is caught in a crossfire between police and Yakuza he ends up hostage and is shot to death. Sotaichou Genryusai seizes the opportunity to punish Ichigo for disobeying orders when saving Inoue, now that he has no bonds to the living realm. Ichigo is forbid from using his shinigami powers. Will Ichigo embrace the enemy and accpet Aizen's offered hand? YAOI, sex, violence
1. Judgement

**Judgement**

"_You're a monster Kurosaki-kun!" _

"_Someone who loves me wouldn't stab me through the gut in cold blood, it's over!"_

"_Ishida-kun."_

"_Shhh Inoue, I'm here."_

"_You deliberately disobeyed orders Kurosaki Ichigo."_

"_Take one step closer and we shoot him!"_

_*Echoing of gunshots*_

_*Terrified screaming*_

Ichigo was in a world of pain, and as his consciousness slipped away from his grasp those words and voices echoed through his mind. His lungs forced a final breath before the world around him went black, the last thing he heard was the final gunshots and terrified screams from bystanders.

Then when he opened his eyes next, they saw the wind tugging at his shihakusho and he heard the increasing sound of an ambulance arriving and several gunshots as policemen tried to subdue the rumored Yakuza group that had no name. Then he saw the limp body lying still in a pool of blood, vibrant orange hair stained with crimson red and he realized the harsh truth.

The police had made one wrong move, and it resulted in the guns pointed at him going off. After ending up as a hostage between police and Yakuza he ended his life in a miserable pool of blood with dozens of innocent onlookers. Now there was nothing left to tie him to the living realm, and in all honesty he wished his soul would have passed on and left its powers behind.

Those echoing voices he had heard before his body took its final life-giving breath just wrenched the screw in his heart around even more, and he silently shed a tear when his dad's clinic ambulance came rolling onto the scene, the Kurosaki clinic having been the medical center closest to the brawl. His father's eyes immediately ran over as he searched the area around for his son's soul, and Ichigo only stared at him with hollow eyes when his father finally caught eye of him.

Ichigo shook his head and his father silently accepted the truth and carried the body of his son which he now knew to be dead onto the medic cart and rushed it into the back of the ambulance.

Unbeknownst to Ichigo the afro shinigami whom he never remembered the name of had watched the whole ordeal, and he now picked up his soul padger and silently sent a message to the So-taichou of Soul Society. *Kurosaki Ichigo, confirmed dead.* And so Ichigo made his way to the only place he could go now, and he was greeted by a for once serious and fanless Urahara Kisuke in front of the small shop.

"Ichigo, I'm so sorry," Urahara offered but Ichigo merely glared at him with lifeless eyes before brushing past him and into the familiar kitchen where he had spent so much time with both his mortal and soul friends.

He sighed deeply and waited for the kettle to whine, before silently pouring himself a cup of tea which was left alone on the table while he stared into the wall, Urahara watching from the doorway with shaded eyes, dipping his hat as far down as he possibly could. He had a good idea of what awaited the young shinigami now, and it did not promise well for the once human boy.

He waited patiently for Ichigo to finally give into sleep, and he carefully picked his student up bridal style and carried him into an already prepared spare bedroom, tucking the covers close to the now slightly shivering teen with a sad smile before exiting the room to consult with Yoruichi as to what they would do now to keep the boy out of Genryusai's grasp.

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

**-1 week later-**

Ichigo no longer had any comprehension of time, his day's passed in an endless dull flow and he paid no attention to anything or anyone around him. Not even his own father managed to pull more than a few sentences from him and he silently gave up, making his way home to comfort his still grieving twin sisters. Ichigo watched with little interest as his father finally left him alone, his spark of life was long gone and as he strode outside to sit in the warm breeze and bathe in the sunlight, the only thing offering him comfort was the happy chirping of a bird choir that was located on the branched over his head.

He didn't even notice the change of reaitsu around him, as two figures familiar to him exited a large Senkaimon and descended upon the small field in front of him. Cold grey eyes scanned the area before finally locking onto their intended target, and with a confident stride filled with power Kuchiki Byakuya made his way over to the substitute shinigami which he detested so much.

His death had come as a rather pleasant surprise to him, while his little sister had grieved for 3 days in a row before finally settling down once more accepting her friend's fate. Byakuya coughed to gain Ichigo's attention, but he had no luck seeing as Ichigo was far away from reality at the moment.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya called this time, his voice loud and stern.

This time there was a spark of interest in Ichigo's otherwise dull eyes, and the orange haired teen turned his head to look at the one whom had called his name in such a formal way. His interest quickly faded however when the cold face of prince sticks up his ass stared down at him with superiority.

"What do you want Byakuya?" Ichigo asked, some color pooling back into his eyes as he glared at one of the men he found himself hating more than he had ever hated anything. Byakuya was about to answer but was cut short as Sui-Feng stepped past him to announce their purpose.

"We are here to escort you to the 1st division headquarters," Sui-Feng stated matter of factly, earning a raised eyebrow from the now slightly colored teen before her.

"And why is that exactly?" Ichigo muttered with an annoyed tone, and had to smirk inwardly at Sui-Feng's obvious lack of patience as her eyebrow twitched furiously.

"You are being trialed for disobeying direct orders from Sotaichou Genryusai, and you are expected to come along willingly," Byakuya said sternly taking over from Sui-Feng, obviously irritating the already annoyed taichou even more.

"And if I refuse?" Ichigo asked with obvious disdain for the both of them.

"Then we will force you to come along," Byakuya answered. Ichigo took a moment to consider and weighed the options he had against each other, and finally let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine," he said and slowly got up to his feet, reaching for Zangetsu whom rested calmly against the trunk of the big oak tree.

"I am afraid I will have to take possession of your Zanpakuto Kurosaki," Sui-Feng said and Ichigo eyed her with irritation before handing the heavy blade over, once again chuckling inwardly as the petite Taichou struggled to balance the sword in her hands.

Moments later he found himself stepping down on the air bridge which led to the Taichou meeting hall and he dragged his feet after the two Taichou escorting him. Upon arriving at the door Sui-Feng grabbed his wrist and placed a bracelet on it. Ichigo scowled at her when he felt the access to his reaitsu being blocked, but he was met with a strict glare from the stealth force Taichou as she motioned for him to stand behind her.

Byakuya pushed the doors open and strode over to his respectful place among the lines of the already waiting Taichou before coughing slightly to gain everyone's attention.

"I have brought Kurosaki Ichigo as ordered," he declared and earned an approving glance from the old bastard standing in the middle of the room.

"I trust young Kurosaki came along without resistance," he said staring at Ichigo whom still stood behind Sui-Feng.

"Hai, Kurosaki Ichigo came along quietly and put up no resistance," Byakuya agreed and lowered his head again as he broke eye contact with the Sotaichou.

"I presume you know why you are here Kurosaki Ichigo?" Genryusai bellowed at the now kneeling Ichigo, and got a nod of confirmation from the unusually silent teen. "Then I will begin your judgement," Genryusai said sternly and clapped his hands to gain his fellow Taichou's attention.

"As you are all aware Kurosaki Ichigo has been found guilty of disobeying direct orders from the Gotei 13 in which he is a part off, dragging along several seated officers and even some Taichou on his quest to rescue the mortal Inoue Orihime," Genryusai spoke. That triggered a reaction from Ichigo whom was angered by the fact that the old geezer claimed that he belonged to the Gotei 13.

"Jii-san," Ichigo began earning a few gasps from the Taichou as he rudely interrupted the Sotaichou's speech. "I never recall being a piece of property, nor do I ever recall joining the 13 court guard squads," Ichigo stated.

"SILENCE! You will not speak unless allowed to!" Genryusai bellowed at the top of his lungs, his reaitsu crashing down heavily on Ichigo's shoulders whom was forced to wince seeing as he was temporarily stripped of his own power. Ichigo gave off a barely audible snarl and tugged at the cuffs placed on his hands before settling down once more.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, do you deny having gone against orders from your superiors in order to sate your own personal needs?" Genryusai continued and glared at Ichigo. Ichigo was given a sign and he snarled loudly this time, taking the small crowd by surprise as gold bled into his dull brown eyes, filling his gaze with emotions and colors.

"As a matter of fact I do. I am not a part of Gotei 13 and as such I do not believe I should have to follow your rules and protocols, nor any orders you might have given me. Secondly I never forced any of the Taichou or seated members to come along, I am sure you are well aware that they followed me into battle of their own free will and that no lives were lost on your side," Ichigo stated, his voice echoing slightly as his hollow surfaced more and more along with his anger.

"May I ask whom of my officers followed you freely, and the mentioned ones shall speak their opinion on the matter," Genryusai replied.

"Kenpachi, Renji and Rukia came of their own free will. I am not sure as to why Byakuya came along, but he can explain that himself," Ichigo answered truthfully.

"Renji Fukutaichou, Rukia and Zaraki Taichou, is this true?" Genryusai bellowed.

"Hai, no lies comes from Kurosaki," they answered in unison.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Genryusai continued. Renji was the first to reply and he even dared to look up at the Sotaichou with honest eyes as he answered.

"I followed Kurosaki because he is my friend, and because I know Inoue and I did now want to see any damage fall upon her," he said before stepping back to stand beside Byakuya.

"I have been with Ichigo ever since his powers awoke and I deem him a close friend, that is why I sought to help him," Rukia answered.

"Tch, I only went with him because I thought I might get a good fight," Kenpachi answered.

"And you Kuchiki Taichou, what were your reasons?" Genryusai demanded.

"I simply followed to make sure nothing ill would befall my little sister Rukia," Byakuya answered. Genryusai seemed to be pleased with Byakuya and Kenpachi's replies, but he glared at Rukia and Renji and they knew they would receive punishment for breaking the rules once more.

"All right, so you spoke the truth about not forcing any of my officers along. However your statement of not belonging to the Gotei 13 is false Kurosaki. Any shinigami is duty bound to follow the rules of Soul Society," Genryusai said, a smug looing spark in his eyes. Ichigo looked towards Shunsui whom nodded and spoke up.

"That is where I believe you are wrong. As you all know I am not a shinigami. I am a vizard and I don't see you forcing your rules upon the other ones belonging to similar heritage," Ichigo answered.

"That fact does not matter. You utilize shinigami powers and the reason why the other vizard isn't bothered with our rules is because they are exiles," Genryusai bellowed. This time Ichigo replied angrily without waiting for Shunsui's approval and yet another round of gasps sounded through the room.

"Then why have you not exiled me, I am the same as them after all. Why would you treat me different?" This question seemed to take Genryusai by surprise and he took a moment to think.

"You are a special case Kurosaki, nothing more and nothing less. You are not excused from our laws as we see it and you shall be punished for disobeying orders," Genryusai replied.

"If I am or am not excused of your laws is not your decision to make. I was still human at the time, and as far as I know Soul Society does not have the right to control a human's actions," Ichigo growled, once again aborting the rule of not speaking unless given permission.

"Nonsense!" Genryusai bellowed and raised his hand. "I hereby declare that Kurosaki Ichigo will forfeit his position as a substitute shinigami. He will give us his Shinigami badge, and he shall be denied use of shinigami powers. Any objections?" he bellowed and waited to see if any hands rose. He growled when Ukitake, Shunsui and Kenpachi raised their hands but brushed it off with his words.

"Seeing as the objections are fewer in numbers than those agreeing I will not hear your reasons," he said and lowered his hands. "Kurosaki Ichigo, please hand your Shinigami badge over to Sui-Feng Taichou. Should it be discovered that you have used your Shinigami powers after returning to wander the living realm, you will face an even greater punishment. Am I clear?" He said and eyed Ichigo.

"Clear as fogged glass Jii-san," Ichigo growled before tearing his badge off of his hip and placing it in Sui-Feng's hands. He scowled at her before grabbing Zangetsu from her and secured him to his back before exiting the meeting hall. Before anyone could come to _escort_ him he enjoyed the last moments of being allowed to utilize his shinigami heritage and shunpoed to one of the secret passageways he had used to get here when he saved Rukia. He was back in the living world before any of the shinigami could do anything and he trudged over to Urahara's shoten with a hunched posture.

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

"Oh Kurosaki-san," Urahara's happy go lucky voice called from the kitchen and Ichigo groaned. Urahara's expression changed as he noticed how defeated Ichigo looked. "How did it go?" he asked already having guessed where Ichigo had been.

"They forbid me from ever again using my shinigami powers," Ichigo answered truthfully. "Damn bastards, it's like forbidding me from being myself," Ichigo growled.

"Well at least you've stopped being an empty emotionless shell," Urahara chirped trying to cheer his student up.

"I'm no longer alive; I'm dead Urahara-san. I can't possibly continue to walk around with Zangetsu on my back knowing that I can no longer use him. The way Jii-san laid everything down it sounded like I would be executed if I so much as touched Zangetsu's hilt," Ichigo growled. "Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked with a serious voice.

"Hai?" he answered.

"I need you to help me seal my shinigami powers away," Ichigo explained.

"But wouldn't that leave you as a complete hollow?" He asked innocently.

"I am fully aware of the risks I am taking, I will find a way to handle my hollow," Ichigo said.

"Then I am afraid we'll need to head downstairs," Urahara said and beckoned for Ichigo to follow. Ichigo mutely followed his shishou downstairs and was surprised to find Sado down there training, and he was greeted silently by the only remaining friend he had. Sado had accepted Ichigo's death rather easily; after all he knew that Ichigo would still linger around as a soul and not pass on.

"Kurosaki-san, please slash your palm and use your blood to draw Tensa Zangetsu's guard on the ground, then place yourself in the middle," Urahara said and tossed a small knife to Ichigo. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the command but did it anyway, Sado watching with a slightly confused expression.

"Before we continue Urahara-san, let me have a moment," Ichigo beckoned and received an understanding nod from Urahara. Ichigo took a deep breath and sat down in the middle of the drawing he had made, placing Zangetsu atop of his hands which he rested on his thighs as he sat there cross-legged. As his eyes closed he found himself in his inner world, heavy rain splashing against the horizontal skyscrapers as he landed gracefully on one of the rain splattered windows.

"Zangetsu no Ossan_," Ichigo said and smiled sadly at Zangetsu whom stood on his usual pole. He couldn't see his hollow anywhere nearby and he was thankful for that. _

_"Your decision does not anger me Ichigo. I agree with your reasoning," Zangetsu said calmly from the top of his pole. "Although it pains me to know that I will become unable to protect you it is for the best," Zangetsu continued. _

_"I always knew you would understand Ossan," Ichigo said with a bow of his head. He respected his Zanpakuto deeply and he walked forward to meet Zangetsu as the Zanpakuto jumped down from his pole._

_ Ichigo froze when Zangetsu did something he'd never expect of his sword. He stood still for a moment before returning the full hug Zangetsu gave him, and buried his face in the crook of Zangetsu's neck. _

_"You will have to sleep until I can freely wield you again Ossan," Ichigo said fisting his hands into the dark coat belonging to his sword. _

_"And I will wait patiently until your voice calls out for me Ichigo," Zangetsu said as he ended the embrace and took a few steps back and retook his place on top of the pole. _

_"Goodbye Ichigo," Zangetsu said as Ichigo faded from his inner world and returned to reality._

Ichigo nodded at Urahara whom began reading some incantations before smearing some of Ichigo's blood on his own hands. He then did a series of complicated hand seals and ended with slamming his hands into the ground shouting "Fuin!"

Ichigo's reaitsu burst out in angered waves as the teen howled in pain while his shinigami powers were slowly erased from his soul and guided into a forming necklace that hung around Ichigo's neck. When the dust screen that covered the whole ordeal lifted Sado watched in awe as Ichigo's usual shinigami look was replaced by one of his common wears and his feet faded away so it seemed as if he hovered above the ground like your regular spirit. Ichigo sighed deeply and a silent tear escaped him as he clutched the slightly pulsing necklace that looked like Tensa Zangetsu's guard in his palm, feeling the calming thrum of Zangetsu's powers against his own pulse.

"Arigato, Zangetsu," Ichigo said before letting the necklace fall down to rest at the very top of his chest.

"Ichigo, what just happened?" Sado questioned and Ichigo looked towards him and then down at himself.

"I just sealed my shinigami powers away Chad," Ichigo answered and was surprised to see a look of shock pass through Sado's features.

"Why?" Sado questioned and Ichigo's face featured a dejected expression.

"Allow me to explain," Urahara chirped in a way to happy voice as he washed Ichigo's blood off of his hand before looking towards Sado with stern eyes.

"Kurosaki-san was taken to Soul Society earlier today where he was given a punishment for going against Sotaichou's will in rescuing Inoue-san. They forbade him from ever using his shinigami powers again, and now that Kurosaki-san has no body to return to it would be pure torment to walk around as a shinigami," Urahara explained.

Sado took a moment to mull over the words before giving an understanding grunt and nod towards Ichigo whom smiled at his old friend. With his powers sealed away Ichigo needed Urahara to carry him out of the basement since he could no longer Shunpo and he promised his Shishou a world of pain if he ever dared mention it to anybody.

He silently exited the Shoten to sit at the front porch and smiled when a black cat suddenly jumped into his lap and curled up. He rubbed Yoruichi's back and scratched behind her ears as he sat there thinking about who knows what, Yoruichi purring loudly at the newfound attention she was getting from the usually insensitive teen. She didn't say anything, didn't attempt to question him, she simply laid there and offered her comfort and for that Ichigo was grateful.

None of them knew however, that the afro shinigami tasked with protecting Karakura was watching them closely, his reaitsu completely concealed by one of Kurosutchi's devises, and he reported in about Ichigo's sudden lack of shinigami abilities, and not long after he greeted two black clad men that came through a special Senkaimon that could not be detected. He showed them a place to stay and they based down in a small apartment, waiting for just the right moment to make their move.

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

**-In Las Noches-**

"Hai, thank you very much for the information Izuru-chan," Gin said, his everlasting smile dropping just slightly in the corners as he processed the information.

He hurried out of his quarters and took several turns through stark white hallways, creeping out several Arrancar on his way as he headed for Aizen's office. Arriving at the door he placed two sharp knocks on the door before pushing it open and entering.

"Ichimaru? What brings you here at this hour?" Aizen questioned.

"I dun know what hour it 's seeing as 'ers no sun tah go by, but I have some important information," Gin replied and sat down in the chair positioned in front of Aizen's desk.

"Oh, now you've caught my interest Gin," Aizen said using his right hand man's first name this time.

"Kurosaki Ichigo s'dead," Gin said dropping the bomb.

"What? This had better not be a joke Gin," Aizen said, the aura about him suddenly darkening by at least ten notches.

"I aint spoutin' lies, 'is body 's dead 'n the least," Gin explained.

"How?" Aizen questioned. "Got caught in tha crossfire of some Yakuza n' police," Gin said. "But tha 's not what I came tah tell yah," Gin said and Aizen noted how his subordinate's ever present grin seemed to falter slightly.

"S soon as Ichi died, Jii-san took tha opportunity tah punish 'im since he no longer has ties to tha living realm," Gin continued. He opened his eyes to let his startling ice blue eyes fall upon his master before he continued.

"They forbade 'im from usin' 'is shinigami power, threatenin' with greater punishment if he disobeyed," Gin finished.

"I see Soul Society is still such a wretched place. It angers me that they must torture the poor kid like that after he just lost his human life. I would even go as far as to feel a little guilty for kidnapping Inoue-san to test his powers; I never thought this would be the result. I think it is time we reach out to the boy; maybe he has finally begun to see what kind of place Soul Society really is," Aizen declared.

"Which of the Espada should I send?" Gin asked.

"Ulquiorra would be a definite no; he's still recovering from the revival process. Grimmjow would tear the teen to shreds, and Szayel is too uh, well not fitting. Yammy's still got a grudge towards him. I think the best option would be sending Starrk and Harribel," Aizen decided and got an agreeing nod from his right hand man.

"I'll see to it then," Gin said before slinking out of the room.

He would be lying if he didn't say he too felt a bit sorry for the poor teen. The boy had seen and been through so much and at a very young age as well. This happening might just be what it would take to finally tip the scale and a warrior as great as Ichigo did not deserve to fall in such an unworthy way.

Gin knew that Aizen had a genuine interest in the boy's wellbeing, and that he did not want to see anything ill befall the teen, and he himself agreed. Tosen was indifferent and the rest of the Espada and Arrancar had little to no interest in the boy, except for those whom had crossed blades or paths with him at least. He hoped Starrk and Harribel would manage to reach out to the tormented vizard and he genuinely wanted Ichigo to become one of them.

And so with that Gin slinked off like the snake he was in his search for two of the top Espada.

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

**-Back at Urahara's shoten-**

Ichigo was outside, studying his faded feet as he simply hovered above the ground and snarled in disgust at how pitiful he had become. Only Sado knew about what he had done, Inoue and Ishida were probably too busy playing in the hay to even care. He doubted Rukia would appear anytime soon and his dad left him alone, only Urahara and Yoruichi even tried to make contact with him.

Ichigo stared aimlessly out at the landscape presented to him until a slightly familiar sound reached his ears. It sounded like someone ripped something up along with a bussing that could be mistaken for a video-game sound and he whipped around to stare at the sky. He watched in awe as black lines appeared in the blue canvas and he blinked in shock when the forming Garganta opened and crushed him with two heavy spiritual pressures.

Out came two Arrancar he had never seen before and he watched as they searched the area, and he froze when their eyes landed on him. He backed off into the trunk of the big oak tree which he often found himself under when they slowly approached him.

Since he didn't have full control or access to his hollow powers he had been reduced to a mere soul and he could do nothing against the Arrancar that now approached him. They stopped a couple of meters away and eyed him up and down before the brown haired male one opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked and Ichigo blinked in surprise as he had expected two Zanpakuto coming down to behead him, but instead he was confronted with a simple question.

"Hai," he answered. This time the blond haired woman spoke.

"Good, we have an offer to make," she said.

* * *

**Dundundun?**

**Anyways, some glossary maybe?**

**Shishou - Another word for Sensei or Master**

**Jii-san - a term often used by young people toward elder men with more experience**

**Taichou - Captain**

**Fukutaichou - Vice Captain/lieutenant**

**Sotaichou - Head Captain, Master Captain whatever you want to call it lol**

**Shinigami - death god, or soul reaper if you want XD**

**Fuin - a term for magic seals, or something along that line :p**

**Shihakusho - the uniform all Shinigami officers wear**

* * *

**Sorry guy's, I know I need to update BMBD and Night Chase, but this story was itching in my fingertips, I had to get it written down… Anyways, I have high hopes for this story, and I hope it will be well welcomed. It is going to be a yaoi story, but there will be no set pairings on Ichigo's side. It will be several pairings were no one owns another, so I think there will be a lot of fan service in this story lol. Anyways, this does not follow the manga completely. In short Aizen is still Soul Society's enemy, but he'll be more like the good guy while Genryusai will be the demon like figure. I hope you will enjoy the story, and please express your thoughts on the first chapter :p**

**Please Review, reading your reviews is what inspires me to continue writing!**


	2. Not what you'd expect

**Not what you'd expect.**

Ichigo eyed the two Arrancar suspiciously, if they decided to attack him he'd be done for. Yoruichi had gone to Seiretei to bitch at Genryusai for giving Ichigo such a severe punishment, while Urahara was out of town for God knows what reason. The two kids would kill themselves if they tried to help him, and Tessai had gone with Yoruichi, he would be in a real bind if they turned hostile.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked wearily as he took a few steps forward confidently so that he wouldn't look like a cowering dog against the trunk of the tree he had just backed into.

"Ah, my apologies," the blonde haired woman said, it was a wonder her voice could sound so clean when she hid her mouth behind the collar of that weird top. "I am Tier Harribel, Tres Espada at your service," she politely introduced herself before elbowing her brown haired friend.

Ichigo's eyes went wide when he heard her rank, why would an Espada come all the way to the living realm to just have a conversation with him? "Tch," the brown haired male began before yawning and then letting his lazy steel grey eyes land upon Ichigo as he introduced himself with a bored tone to his voice.

"I am Coyote Starrk, Primera Espada," he began and on a second thought added "Yoroshiku."

Ichigo hesitantly took another step back now that he learned that they were both Espada, the brown haired one being the Primera to top it all. "What do you want with me?" Ichigo asked with a wary voice.

"We do not seek to harm you, Aizen-sama has a proposal for you," Harribel said calmly.

"Why would Aizen have a proposal for me, as if I'd ever agree to one in the first place," Ichigo all but snarled at the woman.

"Let me at least tell you what he wants," Harribel said and upon getting no response she continued. "Aizen-sama wishes to invite you to Las Noches for a three day stay. You will be free to leave at any moment and one of the Espada shall personally escort you should you decide to, you will not be harmed by any Arrancar living there and you will be treated as an equal among our ranks," Harribel explained. Ichigo gave a snort at that, he was damn near laughing his head off at the offer, earning a curious glance from the Primera.

"And why in the world would I agree, it could just as well be a trap for all I know," Ichigo spat his eyes getting specks of gold in them and there was a barely audible echoing to his voice.

"I understand that you may have difficulties trusting Aizen-sama after the incident with Inoue, but Aizen-sama has no hidden motives, he merely wishes to be allowed the chance to speak to you face to face," Harribel said eyeing the now slightly agitated teen calmly.

"I am not convinced, there is no guarantee that his subordinates that hold a grudge against me wont defy him and try to end me," Ichigo said and eyed the two once more.

"That is true, but Aizen-sama will promise a great punishment to anyone whom tries to curl as much as a strand of hair on your head," Harribel said.

Ichigo looked at her for a moment before weighing it all up, he really wanted to be anywhere but the human realm or Soul Society and Hueco Mundo would be a great option, if you removed the fact that he was basically powerless at the moment. He felt Zangetsu pulse slightly against his chest and he realized his Zanpakuto was giving him a push, telling him to go for it. Ichigo looked down and picked the pendant up to clutch it with his palm sending a silent thanks to his sword before looking back up at the two Espada.

"All right, I'll come with you," Ichigo silently agreed and was surprised to see a happy like emotion sweeping briefly though the woman's green eyes at his acceptance, and she voiced her gratitude before beckoning for him to follow.

Ichigo was about to tell her that he would need to be carried, but he suddenly felt H'tsu's reaitsu seep into his veins and he watched stunned as his feet solidified. Harribel obviously noticed the change as she looked Ichigo in the eyes, he briefly wondered if they had turned golden as well. It was strange for his inner hollow to willingly offer his power up like that, and he silently wondered what had gotten the hollow into the rather willing mood.

Ichigo only shrugged his shoulders at her obvious confusion and was surprised to find that he could use his Sonido to some degree and was able to follow them up into the air. He arched an eyebrow as the weird Garganta opened before them, and hesitantly stepped inside after the Tres and Primera. He was momentarily stunned when he seconds after found himself standing in the cold reaitsu filled air of Hueco Mundo, realizing that the Garganta was much faster than any Senkaimon he had ever used. He scowled when he felt H'tsu's energy pulse through him a bit stronger and silently followed the two Espada to a giant gate, which opened immediately to let them inside of the walls of Las Noches.

Ichigo looked around in awe, now that he was not busy fighting he had the time to realize just how big the city like fortress was, and it didn't take him long to end up completely confused by the labyrinth of stark white hallways he was led through. Much to his relief they met no other Arrancar or Espada for that matter, and it finally seemed as if they had arrived at their destination.

Harribel motioned for him to enter through the large door in front of him, and Ichigo hesitantly pushed the door open, entering into a large room with an actual fireplace to the left, and a large white desk in the far end of the room where Aizen sat waiting. He looked up at the sound of his door closing and Ichigo actually saw a spark of excitement in those brown eyes as the former Taichou realized whom it was that stood before him.

"Ichigo, what a pleasant surprise! I didn't think you would come," Aizen erupted and smiled warmly at Ichigo.

"What exactly is it that you want with me?" Ichigo asked, an annoyed tone eminent in his voice.

"I simply want to show you what I can offer Kurosaki," Aizen said and waved for Ichigo to come closer.

Ichigo looked at him curiously before hesitantly making his way over to the comfortable looking chair that was positioned in front of the white desk Aizen sat behind. Aizen took a moment to look Ichigo up and down, and Ichigo slightly fidgeted under the odd gaze before staring at the man.

"I heard that you died, technically," Aizen started taking Ichigo slightly by surprise. He studied how Ichigo's eyes seemed to lose their spark at the mentioning and he was quick to apologize. "Oh how insensitive of me, please excuse my foolishness," Aizen said and eyed the teen carefully.

Something was off with the teen, he thought. All the reports he had gotten, especially from Grimmjow indicated that the teen was a vibrant person with tons of energy and attitude, that he had a certain fire in his eyes that seemed to egg on all his opponents. The teen that sat in front of him did not fit that description at all, and Aizen found it highly unlikely that his death alone was the cause for this sudden lack of spirit. He was still pondering about why the teen didn't have his Zanpakuto with him, and the fact that he was not dressed in his usual Shihakusho but rather plain human clothing, and then he noticed how Ichigo's feet seemed to fade like they would on a regular soul. Aizen's inner rambling was cut short when Ichigo coughed in an irritated way and he suddenly realized he had been staring at the teen and quickly averted his eyes for a moment.

"I was wondering, where is your Zanpakuto?" Aizen questioned and didn't fail to catch the look of hurt which flashed through the brown eyes.

"Gone," Ichigo replied sharply and looked off and out of the single window, studying the moon which cast it's light inside.

"What do you mean gone?" Aizen asked, not fully grasping what the teen could possibly mean.

"I thought you were supposed to be a genius Sosuke Aizen," Ichigo said with a slightly smug look on his face, honestly surprised that the man hadn't put the pieces together yet. "What do you get when a shinigami breaks the rules so that he can fulfill his own personal goals?" Ichigo guided him and a look of sudden realization passed through Aizen's brown eyes.

"What did Genryusai do to you?" Aizen asked, his voice barely hiding the anger he wanted to show.

If Genryusai had done something to tamper with Ichigo's power, like letting Kurotsuchi at him he would have yet another good reason to destroy the Soul Society, Ichigo was still human when he rescued Inoue and Soul Society did not have the right to control a human being.

"Oh he did nothing special, he only forbid me from using my shinigami powers. Soon as I was dead Byakuya and Sui-Feng came knocking at my door telling me I was going to be trialed for disobeying Yama-jii's direct orders," Ichigo snarled.

"Then why didn't you just disobey like you always do?" Aizen asked, truly curious as to why the teen had not rebelled against the sentence.

"Because doing so would put a death sentence on me and I would have been forced to fight many of my friends," Ichigo explained. A look of understanding went through the brown haired male's eyes before he opened his mouth to speak again.

"That still doesn't explain why your Zanpakuto and shihakusho is gone," Aizen said with a curious voice.

Ichigo mock groaned at him, he found that he actually enjoyed conversing with the man behind the desk to his despair and he glared at the man before lifting his necklace out from where it had rested beneath his shirt. Aizen eyed the object with confusion for a few seconds before he felt the slight pulse of shinigami reiatsu and his eyes widened in amusement.

"You sealed your own powers away!" Aizen declared and Ichigo replied "well duh Sherlock" before looking out the window once more.

"Why?" Aizen suddenly asked, and was shocked to hear a slight whimper of protest. "You don't have to tell me," Aizen quickly said.

"No it's fine… It's just that right now anything related to the Shinigami and Soul Society feels like torture to me," Ichigo explained and Aizen suddenly understood why the teen seemingly willingly sealed his shinigami half away.

His protective instinct was far too great, and walking around as a powerful shinigami but knowing he couldn't use his power to protect would be like an endless torment to the boys soul, Aizen concluded and shook his head slightly in disbelief, fairly certain that Genryusai knew what he had just realized.

"Enough talking about me, I have a few questions I want to ask you if we are going to act like civilized beings anyway," Ichigo suddenly said and Aizen gave him a funny look, as if he had expected Ichigo to say something in that line.

"I'm all ears Kurosaki," he said and leaned slightly forward over the desk as to minimize the distance between him and Ichigo.

"Why did you kidnap Inoue, and why did you just let me go when I took care of Ulquiorra?" Ichigo fired his gun and Aizen gave him a mocking shocked look, successfully earning a twitching eyebrow from the teen.

"Well, that is a long story. But I'll be more than happy to tell you," Aizen began before picking up a cup of tea which Ichigo had not noticed at all until it was brought into his direct line of sight.

"I've had an interest in you ever since Rukia accidently awakened your shinigami powers," Aizen said and then took a long sip of his tea. "I watched you grow when you tried to rescue her from the execution and I realized how much potential you had, and I just waited for Genryusai to do something to restrain that potential," he continued and noted that Ichigo had hunched forward a bit and seemed to be listening carefully.

"When I found out you were a Vizard my interest just grew and I started thinking about ways for me to test your strength," Aizen said and took a new sip from his cup.

"So you mean to say your kidnapping of Inoue was solely to test what I was capable of?" Ichigo asked with a barely audible snarl.

"Oh no, I had an interest in Inoue's healing prowess as well. I wanted to study it and see if she could be a valuable addition if I managed to convince her to stay," Aizen explained and was pleased to see the anger in Ichigo's eyes dropping a couple of notches.

"You do realize that because of that I was forced into a corner and let my hollow take over, which nearly resulted in me killing one of my friends, as well as completely obliterating your subordinate? I really don't like killing people if it's not completely necessary," Ichigo said.

"I understand that, and I never thought your hollow would be so strong," Aizen said; wonder echoing in his voice to further increase the truth of his words.

"But that is not all, Rukia and Renji were hurt as well, and they are two of my closest friends not to mention Chad," Ichigo said eyeing Aizen.

"I could not care less what happened to the shinigami friends of yours, I want you to be aware of that since I intend to show no mercy. There are many things that made me leave Soul Society and what you encountered with both Rukia and your sentence are one of them," Aizen snarled.

"However the damage to your quincy friend and Sado was unfortunate," Aizen admitted. "I did not intend for that to happen," he finished.

Ichigo looked at Aizen for a long time and even went as far as to stare into his eyes, and he was honestly surprised to find that if he looked hard Aizen's eyes betrayed him showing the emotions he hid under his normally cold demeanor, and what Ichigo saw was the honest truth in the man's words and nearly all the hostility he had felt towards the man disappeared. He would not forgive him for the mistake with Chad, Rukia and Renji but on second thought Inoue and Ishida was a different case.

"You seem to be telling the truth," Ichigo began and looked at Aizen, their eyes locking for a brief moment. "I will not forgive you for hurting Renji, Rukia and Chad, but when I think about Ishida and Inoue I think I'll make an exception," Ichigo finished.

"Why would you make an exception for the quincy and the girl," Aizen asked with awe in his voice.

"Let's just say that Ishida turned on me because I stabbed him, and Inoue shunned me calling me a monster," Ichigo explained.

Aizen heard how hurt Ichigo sounded when he mentioned the Quincy turning on him, and he realized that the two of them had probably been together. The way he spat Inoue's name indicated that maybe the Quincy and the girl had gotten together afterwards and he realized it must have been a big blow to his pride and his heart.

With that Aizen motioned for Ichigo to stand, and Ichigo was given a tour of the entire fortress and he barely remembered even half of the places which he had been shown. But he did remember the throne room and he was surprised to find all 10 Espada seated at the huge table waiting for their master.

Wait, all ten Espada? No, Nnoitra definitely wasn't there, but Grimmjow was and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, he really hadn't wanted for the Sexta to die, even though he was a down right asshole and had punched a hole in Rukia's gut. But what shocked him the most was when cold jade eyes met his and he realized he was looking at Ulquiorra in all his cold glory, how was that even possible?

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

**-Karakura town-**

"I've searched the entire town, I can't find a single trace of Kurosaki Ichigo's reaitsu anywhere," one of the black clad men said with an exasperated voice.

"I can't find a single trace of him either," the other man clad in a similar way said with an upset voice.

"We must find him and complete our mission, else Taichou will have our heads for failing," the first one said resulting in the other one shivering slightly at the thought of being the subject of their Taichou's fury.

They split up again and the first one tried the area where he knew Urahara Kisuke's shoten to be, seeing as the incompetent Afro shinigami had told them that was where he had last seen the teenager. He landed in a field nearby and detected an odd reaitsu that dusted the damp grass and he bent down to check it.

He found two signatures which he had never felt before, which oozed of power and one which was similar to Kurosaki Ichigo's, but had a hollow feel to it. He was sure, the substitute shinigami had been here, and he had been here in the presence of what could only be two Arrancar judging by the power in the faint reaitsu which still existed.

He quickly paged a report through is soul pager and inside the Seiretei Sui-Feng had a pleased expression and went to tell the Sotaichou about her latest discoveries.

**~~~~ Embrace the Enemy ~~~~**

**-Back in Las Noches-**

Icihgo trudged after Aizen and up the incredibly long staircase that led up to his rather impressive throne and coughed to gain everyone's attention. Ichigo jumped when a slender hand fell down upon his shoulder and he turned to see Gin grinning at him like usual, and he shuddered slightly. The man was creepy and he hadn't changed one bit. Smiling back nervously Ichigo looked forward again, but quickly averted his eyes down as he was met by ten pair of eyes belonging to the Espada.

"Everyone!" Aizen said and his voice was enforced by some sort of speaker system as he spoke. "As a few of you may know this is Kurosaki Ichigo," he continued.

Ichigo winced slightly when Grimmjow's blue eyes pinned him with a glare that promised death and a barely audible snarl, while Ulquiorra's cold grey eyes landed upon him. Starrk seemed to be asleep but Harribel looked at him reassuringly, while he felt the burning glare of Yammy. The odd pink haired one eyed him with interest, while the rest seemed indifferent and awaited their master's words.

"Ichigo will be staying here as an important guest, hopefully for three full days and I do not want to see any harm done to him. You may not harm him in any way, and if you wish to spar against him it will have to be only if he agrees. If I learn that anyone of you has hurt him in any way a grave punishment will be dealt. Ichigo is free to walk wherever he wants to, and he will dine together with us and attend our meetings as well as train. He will have his own personal quarters and if they are breached against his will it will result in punishment. I expect you to treat him as your equal, guest and family during his stay. That is all," Aizen announced and Ichigo didn't fail to notice how most of the Espada cringed every time the word punishment left Aizen's mouth.

Ichigo was amazed at how easily the incredibly strong Espada bowed before Aizen, and he was beginning to wonder how life here in Las Noches really was. With that Ichigo was told that he was free to do what he wanted and Gin showed him where he would be staying, and Ichigo briefly admired the large space he was given.

It was stark white of course, but it was decorated with a large and very inviting bed, a comfy looking couch and table plus a small kitchenette and a pretty spacious bathroom complete with shower and hot tub. Gin waved him goodbye with that creepy smile of his and Ichigo caught himself once again wondering if the man ever opened his eyes and if he ever did anything else than smile like that.

Ichigo threw together an easy meal before looking over to the very tempting bed. He finished his food and slinked over to the bed, plopping down on the soft mattress and sighed deeply in comfort. He was surprised to find a complete uniform waiting for him neatly folded and placed at the left of the mountain of pillows in the bed and he curiously picked it up.

It consisted of standard white hakama and had a black sash. The top was sleeveless vest which was meant to be left open and Ichigo scrunched his nose slightly at that. He then noted the completely black short sleeved turtleneck shirt that was obviously meant to go beneath the stark white vest. Then there was the shoes which he really found he liked, they were tight fit and went to the middle of his shin, but most of the black and white shoes was hidden by the hakama. Ichigo then found the last piece of the attire which was to his surprise fingerless gloves, and he decided to try everything on.

He went into the bathroom and changed into the uniform and eyed himself in the full length mirror. Whoever designed the individual uniforms had a good eye for it, the uniform fit Ichigo and he grudgingly admitted it looked good on him.

Satisfied with how he looked he walked back to the bed and plopped down, quickly falling asleep without even tucking himself beneath the covers. He slept for a good 3 hours before he was rudely awakened by banging on his door. He groaned and got up from the bed to slink over to the door and opened it to glare at the offending person. He was surprised to be shoved to the side by tanned and muscled arms, and briefly registered blue swooshing past him as Grimmjow burst into the room.

"Keh, Aizen gave you a pretty nice place," Grimmjow said before turning to the slightly stunned teen. "Don't stand there gaping, grab your Zanpakuto. We're going out sparring, I still owe you for the last time," Grimmjow growled and slouched down in the couch tapping his foot impatiently at the floor.

"I don't have a Zanpakuto," Ichigo silently said.

"Whaddaya mean you don't have a Zanpakuto, of course you do. Grab Zangetsu so we can go!" Grimmjow growled.

"Zangetsu's gone, I sealed him away!" Ichigo growled back before storming up to Grimmjow. "Who said you could enter anyway!" he bellowed at the Espada.

"You opened the door didn't you?" Grimmjow growled, clearly annoyed.

"That doesn't count as an invitation for you to come in!" Ichigo growled with a hopeless tone.

"In Las Noches, it does!" Grimmjow snarled back and growled even more when Ichigo rolled his eyes at him. "Don't you fucking roll your eyes at me Shinigami!" Grimmjow growled and rose from the couch to stand face to face with the angered teen.

"Shut up will you, I don't have a Zanpakuto and I am not going sparring with you!" Ichigo shouted into the Espada's face before turning around and walking out of the door, crashing face first into a large set of breasts.

"Grimmjow being an ass?" Harribel questioned when she heard the familiar snarl coming from the now Quinto Espada inside Ichigo's room before eyeing the clearly agitated teen.

She took the look he gave her as a yes and brushed past Ichigo and into the room. Ichigo was shocked to hear a distressed whine come from the blue haired devil and he nearly laughed his guts out when Harribel came out the door dragging a squirming blue haired Espada by his messy hair.

"Damn it Harribel, let the fuck go you bitch! And don't you dare fucking laugh at me Kurosaki!" Grimmjow bellowed and earned himself a well-placed right hook for calling the Tres Espada a bitch. Grimmjow whined again and cowered under Harribel's threatening glare and Ichigo couldn't help but taunt the angered Espada.

"Aww, did kitty get a scolding?" Ichigo said with a smug look on his face and got the death glare from the panther.

"Fuck you Kurosaki!" Grimmjow growled and groaned when he was smashed into the ground by Harribel's foot. "Get out of here Sexta and stop pestering our guest!" Harribel demanded and Grimmjow gave off a defeated scoff, muttering that he was the Quinto, not the sexta before kicking the ground and slinked down the hallway.

"Its meal time soon, do you want to eat with me?" Harribel asked and Ichigo gave her an appreciative smile.

"I would very much like that Harribel-sama," Ichigo answered respectfully before following the Tres Espada down the hall.

"Oh and Ichigo, no honorifics needed," Harribel said before they arrived at the dining room.

* * *

**Glossary?**

**I believe there is only one word here lol**

**Yoroshiku – is a greeting, commonly meaning nice to meet you and is added after introducing yourself to another person. **

**Please note: The name I used for Ichigo's inner hollow is not mine. H'tsu was developed by Nova Alexandria in her story The real King. (great story by the way, I recommend it!)**

**A very talk talk chapter don't you think? Anyways, I know Aizen is out of character, but as stated this does not follow the manga completely. In this Fic Aizen has not followed Ichigo since birth and yadda yadda. Also Harribel is actually not so much out of character as she may seem. Harribel is mostly silent but she believes in not killing people and cares for her fraccion, I think she would be the type that could make friends with her enemies so that's that. And Grimmjow, always the asshole XD Anyways, hope you liked the chapter ;)**

**Please review!**


	3. Regression and Revelations

**Warning! Contain's spoilers for anyone who have not read the manga, and for any manga readers who have not read the latest chapters featuring the latest arc!**

**Read at your own risk!**

* * *

**Regression and Revelations**

Ichigo was having a restless night in Las Noches, his body thrashing around in the bed in his fitful sleep. Ichigo was panting and sweating and through the lens of the only camera Aizen had placed in Ichigo's suite the latter was watching with deep worry, noticing how the teens very being shifted from being very transparent to return to its more solid state, well as solid as a soul could get anyway.

The boy seemed to be in pain, his eyes squeezing tight as he threw and thrashed his body around nearly falling of the king sized bed in the process. Aizen was considering sending Szayel to check on the teen but then he noticed how the boy suddenly seemed to still and went completely silent as if he hadn't just been destroying the bed due to what seemed to be a not so relaxing sleep.

**~Break~**

"**Aibou!" **H'tsu snarled but got no response and the hollow snarled loudly in protest before calling out for Ichigo again, once again having no response.

**~Break~**

"_It hurts, god damn it how it hurts!" Ichigo screamed into the black void as his body was tearing up under waves of pain which he could not understand where came from. His vision failed again as the pain struck him in another merciless wave and he trashed around screaming in pain, sweat glistening on his skin as he panted heavily._

"Aibou!...Aibou!"

_Ichigo's ears caught a faint call amidst all the pain and he struggled to hear the words spoken. 'Someone is calling, but who is it?' he thought as he desperately clung to that faint voice which felt like it would be his only escape. _

_"Who's there, please help me!" Ichigo called out into the void._

"Snap out of it Aibou!" H'tsu snarled when he heard Ichigo's pathetic answer.

_'Aibou? That sounds familiar,' Ichigo thought before he heard the voice call out to him a second time repeating it's answer to his call. 'Aibou, why does it sound so familiar, damnit brain start working!' Ichigo cussed in desperation to the hollow of his mind. _

"If ya don' snap outta it I'm gonna take yer body over 'n I will not be held responsible for wha' I migh do tah tha ones tha are 'round 'ere Aibou!" H'tsu snarled as loudly as he could inside Ichigo's mind, desperate for his Aibou to wake up before they both died.

_'That voice, H'tsu?' Ichigo thought. 'Yes! That's him, but why does he sound so scared?' Ichigo thought before another snarling Aibou went through his mind and his thoughts were forgotten. Ichigo called out his hollow's name in desperation and suddenly felt a surge of power as black reaitsu broke the void which he was trapped inside._

**~~Embrace the Enemy~~**

Aizen watched in awe as a surge of reaitsu shot out of Ichigo's struggling body with great force, the whole room darkening as the black reaitsu spilled out from Ichigo's very core. His eyes widened when Ichigo's body suddenly vanished from the room, he couldn't phantom why he hadn't been able to follow the weakened teen's movements.

The teen had disappeared in a flash and he barely caught up on a meek sound of interest which escaped Gin's lips as the snake stood by his side and studied the teen alongside his master. Aizen quickly skipped through all the camera's he had on screen for any trace of the teen and he suddenly saw that black reaitsu which reeked of power, doom and destruction a long way.

He watched in amazement as all the arrancar and few Espada which were so unlucky to be in the teens way were blown through the walls as the boy rushed past them with what could be nothing else than Sonido.

When Ichigo moved for the doors of Las Noches to enter the desert Aizen had a small panick attack. If the boy went outside with his reaitsu spilling out like that every damn hollow, Adjuchas and maybe even Vasto Lorde would come hunting him down within minutes! But then he noticed something, the figure leaving Las Noches was not a human soul, no rather it seemed to be a hollow Adjuchas which was stark white with an orange mane, lizard tail, ferocious claws and black and red streaks decorating the body.

That's when he realized why the boy had been in so much pain earlier. Since the substitute shinigami had torn the shinigami part of his soul away he ended up as a complete hollow. Ichigo had not ripped his mask of or gone through the Hogyoku to transform into an Arrancar, which meant he would be a Vasto Lorde whom needed to keep consuming lower hollows in order to not regress. But it seemed to be too late already, the boy had regressed to his Adjuchas state and hollows which regressed would lose their individuality and never be able to return to their higher evolution.

He expected the teen to go wild and destroy himself in the process and he mentally smacked himself for not thinking of such a scenario when he got to know that Ichigo had rid himself of any shinigami powers, and now he feared he would lose his biggest hope for victory against the Soul Society.

But instead of going on a mindless rampage he watched as the Adjuchas Ichigo began pulsing his reaitsu steadily like a signal flare, and he realized the Adjuchas was luring hollows with his irresistible reaitsu. He watched stunned as another Adjuchas appeared immediately coming under assault by the regressing Ichigo.

**~~Embrace the Enemy~~**

"**Kill it Aibou, ya need tah feed or we'll regress!" **H'tsu snarled inside Ichigo's mind.

_"I'm working on it!" Ichigo snarled back to his hollow side as his claws tore through his opponent and he shuddered as he actually felt joy in hearing the screams of pain his opponent let out._

**"The chest Aibou, 's it's weak spot! Kill it!"** H'tsu snarled frantically and shouted loudly in frustration when Ichigo was left on the defensive.

_"H'tsu! I don't know how to use our power like this!" Ichigo snarled back at his hollow before freezing as he felt a sudden sting of pain go through his body. _

**"I'm takin' over fer yah Aibou, yer no good in yer current state!" **H'tsu snarled**.**

_Ichigo let his hollow take the steering wheel without struggling for the first time since he awoke his powers as he realized that H'tsu was the only one whom could save them right now__._

_ "I leave it to you," he answered as he felt himself slip out of control as his inverted copy pushed him aside._

**~Break~**

Aizen continued to observe the battle when Ichigo suddenly went still, one of his opponent's freakishly long claws embedded deep within his chest. _'NO!' _he thought frantically and was about to send someone to help the teen when he once again felt a surge of reaitsu coming from the kid. Slowly Ichigo's clawed hand rose to lock firmly around the much frailer one belonging to his opponent and he shuddered slightly at the tormented scream of pain which escaped the Adjuchas when Ichigo effortlessly crushed its bony wrist.

But what shocked him the most was the voice which came out of the sealed mask covering Ichigo's face, it seemed like a never ending echo and even though Ichigo's voice had taken that tune whenever he utilized his hollow mask, this had a different and more deadly twist to it and he quickly realized it was Ichigo's hollow whom spoke.

**"Sorry lil' Adjuchas, but yer gonna be mine and Aibou's first meal off the night. I ain't havin any more regression on our part!"** H'tsu snarled as he quickly crushed the spine of the Adjuchas, rendering it immobile and pathetic on the white sand of Hueco Mundo. Aizen couldn't help but shudder slightly when the mask cracked open between the two rows of sharp teeth and a long blue tongue ran over those deadly shredding teeth before going inside as Ichigo's hollow spoke once again, this time seemingly annoyed with his prey.

**"Tch, ya won't do us much good. Yer so weak, I want ya tah scream fer meh ya pathetic lil' shrimp!" **H'tsu snarled before smashing his foot down on the Adjuchas mangled spine, twisting his foot and digging his clawed toes down between the vertebrates.

Aizen watched as what could be an amused grin spread across the masked face of Ichigo as his hollow relished in the spine chilling screams of pain the Adjuchas let out.

**"Such wonderful music to mah ears," **H'tsu hummed before bending down ripping a piece of flesh from the still living Adjuchas, letting the green blood drip down on his blue tongue to coat his throat with the lovely taste of reaitsu filled blood.

**"Ahhh… Fer such a week one yer blood is so damn good, ya have got tah be a beta baby! I'd mate yah if yah weren't such a god damn weakling!" **H'tsu cackled before devouring the Adjuchas slowly, relishing in the raw and primal feeling he was left with as he could return to his instincts for the first time in decades, maybe even centuries.

_"All right H'tsu, that's enough!" _Ichigo's voice suddenly echoed through the mask and H'tsu immediately snarled at his Aibou.

**"Fuck off Aibou, lemme have some fun fer once!" **H'tsu snarled and began battling the will which was pushing his own away.

Though Ichigo was basically useless at the moment unless H'tsu offered up his reaitsu, Ichigo's will was still stronger and that was all he needed to regain control of his body again.

"Not happening H'tsu, I've got the hang of it now. I'll feed and have us evolve again, I'll even let you out when I've immobilized the prey," Ichigo said his voice clear now easily cutting through H'tsu's own voice.

**"Damnit King!" **H'tsu protested as Ichigo's will overpowered his own and he was pushed back into the world of blue skyscrapers.

Behind the screen Gin chuckled at the rather amusing scene which had been offered to them as Ichigo fought with his own hollow for dominance, but both him and Aizen were surprised when Ichigo stared straight into the camera locking gazes with Aizen.

"I know you're watching Aizen, as you've probably already realized I have a small regression problem. I'll be back once I've risen to Vasto Lorde again," Ichigo said and made a nonchalant wave at the camera he knew was there but couldn't see, as if regressing wasn't that big of a deal at all. Aizen chuckled at how cocky Ichigo was and he realized that right now Ichigo's hollow would probably be the one thing or person, or whatever you want to call whatever he is, that could light Ichigo's flame once again.

**~~Embrace the Enemy~~**

Ichigo snarled loudly as his shoulder was shredded by the spiked tail which belonged to his opponent. It had caught him by surprise as the Adjuchas had not had a tail when they started battling, so when it suddenly grew a tail Ichigo could not see it coming. He glared strongly at the Adjuchas before consulting H'tsu for his healing prowess, and soon the torn flesh had been regenerated and Ichigo's shoulder was back into working condition. Ichigo gave a silent thanks to his hollow before he engaged in battle once more, aiming for the well protected spine of his opponent.

The Adjuchas which he was brawling with had armor covered skin resembling that of Grimmjow's resureccion, but it was much heavier and thicker and not as easy to break through as Grimmjow's, at least when you didn't have a powerful katana to spare. Ichigo's annoyance grew with every passing minute as he landed blow after blow which failed him in tearing the heavy armor.

**"Yer pathetic Aibou, lemme through and he'll be dead 'n dome before ya know it!"** H'tsu complained inside Ichigo's mind, adding more weight to his growing annoyance and Ichigo snarled loudly.

"Damaru Modasu!" Ichigo all but hissed to H'tsu in a silent pledge for his hollow to become silent before turning his attention back to his opponent as the creature seemed to laugh at him.

"Arguing with yourself, that's a new one… You're a hybrid aren't you, what happened to your shinigami powers?" The Adjuchas asked taking Ichigo by surprise.

"How?" Ichigo blurted out and the hollow smirked as it attacked only to be dodged by the ever so fast Ichigo.

"I ran into someone called Shinji or whatever once, he nearly killed me after arguing with his hollow," the Adjuchas answered. "What's your problem, is your hollow so weak that letting him out will spell your doom?" the Adjuchas snickered but went silent when a feeling of doom engulfed Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked at his opponent before he opened his mouth to protest.

"H'tsu wai-…" he began but was cut off as his hollows will overpowered his own and black bled into Ichigo's eyes, his irises turning a predatory golden.

**"Ya dare call me weak ya pathetic coward?" **H'tsu snarled at the Adjuchas as he forced his way to the throne and took control of his Aibou's body.

"Oh so the hollow came out to play eh?" the Adjuchas laughed before lunging at H'tsu only to be dodged and smashed into the ground by a countering foot.

**"Tha's fer shreddin' Aibou's shoulder!" **H'tsu bellowed before sending his claws through the Adjuchas unarmored chest relishing in the pained whimper which escaped his opponent. **"And tha's fer makin' me help the weak bastard!" **H'tsu snarled in an annoyed tone before taking a few steps back.

"I see, you're not on friendly terms with each other are you?" the Adjuchas claimed more than asked before lunging for H'tsu's throat missing his target once again. "Your speed increased," the Adjuchas stated as it turned to face H'tsu again.

**"Get real, as if I'd ever lend Aibou all of my power,"** H'tsu snarled before once again successfully landing a blow at one of the unguarded areas of the Adjuchas' body.

"Keh, if you're only this much stronger after letting your powers free I guess you'll end up as my meal tonight," the Adjuchas spoke confidently before jumping at H'tsu with bared fangs clamping down on the pale throat as H'tsu made no move to dodge the blow. "I got you now," the Adjuchas snickered before trying to clamp his jaws together and snap H'tsu's neck.

**"Tch, don' ya ever dare tah put yerself above me yah pathetic Adjuchas!" **H'tsu snarled before laughing loudly as he pried the Adjuchas of off his neck with ease.

**"As if yah could break my Hierro, yer reaitsu aint even tempting enough fer me to consider consuming it…But on the other hand, it'll be just enough fer me and Aibou tah return tah our Vasto Lorde state so be quiet and die," **H'tsu cackled, his mask cracking open to reveal a wicked grin before his fingers enclosed around the Adjucha's neck, the sickening sound of breaking bones echoing through the thick Reishi filled air of Hueco Mundo sent every lesser hollow within hearing range fleeing with their tails low as the echo was followed up by the echoing of a pained howl.

H'tsu was about to begin consuming the Adjuchas when it began speaking again, its breath wheezing as it struggled to breathe through the partly damaged wind pipe.

"You fool…Once you've regressed you cannot… return… to your former glory!" the Adjuchas wheezed attempting to laugh at H'tsu's 'foolishness'.

**"Hah, yah don' know anything 'bout me and Aibou… See were special, Aibou and I, we can shift between tha ranks if we want to…I just need tah consume enough of yer kind tah keep my energies up and I'll be back in my original Vasto Lorde state… See I was born a Vasto Lorde and as long as I eat, I'll stay that way," **H'tsu explained, all too happy to brag about his special case and powers before he began consuming the Adjuchas, licking the green blood of off his lips when he was done. Seconds after shockwaves ripped through Hueco Mundo, reaching the walls of Las Noches with ease as H'tsu transcended and returned to his rank as a Vasto Lorde once more before Ichigo's voice broke through.

_"That's enough H'tsu, I'm taking over!" _His Aibou's voice echoed in his ears and shortly after he felt Ichigo's will clashing with his.

**"Damn it Aibou, lemme make all the Espada shit their pants before I go back!" **H'tsu complained but his plea went unnoticed by Ichigo and seconds after Ichigo was back in control of his body and sighed in content when the pain which had been throbbing through his body since H'tsu woke him earlier finally subsided as he was once again filled with the familiar hollow reaitsu of a Vasto Lorde H'tsu.

Ichigo cracked his neck and arched his back before heading back towards Las Noches, killing and consuming a few more hollows on the way before nonchalantly striding through the doors of the fortress. Once he entered he was met by Harribel whom had heard that Ichigo had fallen ill, and she immediately voiced her worry for the teen which she had already taken a liking to. Protective of nature and the only Vasto Lorde besides Starrk who had ripped their mask off she felt the need to shield the still growing and young Vasto Lorde Ichigo was.

"Ah Harribel, H'tsu regressed to an Adjuchas for a while. It was extremely painful but consuming a few Adjuchas did the trick and he's okay now," Ichigo explained like it was no big deal but cocked his head with a curious look on his face when he noticed how shocked Harribel looked. "Don't worry, we transcended to Vasto Lorde again," Ichigo assured her with a grin but Harribel just gave him an even more shocked expression at that declaration.

**"Lemme explain it fer her Aibou, I like her!"** H'tsu piped up inside Ichigo's mind and Ichigo let off a groan before agreeing to his hollow after making him promise that he would only surface and not take control of Ichigo's body.

**"Lemme explain it fer ya Harribel-san," **H'tsu's voice echoed as black bled into Ichigo's eyes as they inverted and H'tsu looked at Harribel instead of Ichigo.

"Who are you?" Harribel snarled uncertain as to how she should deal with Ichigo suddenly seemed to be controlled or possessed by something, because it was clearly not Ichigo whom spoke to her just now.

**"Oh sorry, I fergot. Name's H'tsu, I'm Aibou's only source of power at tha moment," **H'tsu snickered and a look of understanding went through Harribel's face. **"So let me explain fer ya jus' how I can rise tah Vasto Lorde level aftah havin' regressed," **H'tsu spoke with a grin on his face.

**"See I'm special, I didn't consume hollows so that I could become a Vasto Lorde. See I was born a Vasto Lorde, I'm the only one of my kind, all the other weak fuckers of my litter died," **H'tsu said the last words spoken with a touch of sadness to his voice.

"You mean two Vasto Lorde successfully bred?" Harribel asked, wonder and shock surfacing in her voice.

**"You bet ya, but my parents weren't strong enough tah care fer me, so when I reached maturity I slayed them. Consumed them as well, the best meal I ever had in fact," **H'tsu spoke, his voice having a tone of disgust when he mentioned his parents. **"They were weak, and so were my siblings. I despised them all so I though not tah waste a good meal, and consuming my parents had a nice effect on me… See I found out that I can't regress farther than Adjuchas level, and if I consume enough Adjucha's I'' return to mah original state," **H'tsu explained.

"You speak as if you were born in Hueco Mundo and not together with Ichigo," Harribel said eyeing H'tsu with curious eyes.

**"Well of course I wasn't born with Aibou. Unfortunate circumstances durin' my first encounter with a Quincy girl led to me bein' trapped inside her. I dun know how it happened, but since I was trapped my reaitsu affected her of course,"** H'tsu snarled and looked away for a brief second before returning his attention to Harribel.

"Then why didn't you just kill her? I've heard of hollows becoming trapped within humans or Quincy's by chance of fate, but their reaitsu poisoned their carrier and killed them in the end," Harribel stated.

**"Well normally that would have been the case. But the night I was trapped inside her I was fightin' this Shinigami Taichou, and I was damn near killin' him when the damn Quincy girl saved him by firing her stingin' arrows at me. I went to kill her off, and when I sunk ma fangs into her neck the bitch fired an arrow straight through my head, sacrificing her own arm tah do it. I was young, and I didn' fully grasp my powers so I panicked and poured my reaitsu into her because I felt myself fading away from existence," **H'tsu continued, Harribel listening closely. Of course now that they were inside Las Noches so did Aizen and he was eagerly memorizing the story while Gin recorded everything in a book.

**"Then of course the girl started dying and the Shinigami fucker called fer help as he couln' just let the girl who saved his weak ass die, and this weird shinigami dude showed up. He healed the girl and then he did some freakish ritual which required the shinigami to give up his powers temporarily so that he could link his soul together with the girls. When his reaitsu entered her body it functioned as a seal on me and that's what kept me from poisoning the girl while I recovered from her arrow," **H'tsu continued before taking a breath.

Meanwhile Ichigo listened from inside his mind and was trying to put the pieces together. He began realizing that H'tsu was basically telling him how he had gotten his powers even though H'tsu was technically speaking to Harribel. He wondered why his hollow had never told him, or tried to kill him if it was as easy as he made it sound. Ichigo shook his head and sharpened his ears as he waited for the rest of the story.

**"I was sealed inside her fer many years, and I watched the two fall in love from behind bars as I waited fer my chance tah escape tha prison. Then of course she had tah end up with cub, and when tha life began forming inside her my reiatsu was molded into tha core of that life. While I was inside that twirling mess of reaitsu my own reaitsu fused with the soul and I became the cub's instinct and source of power along with the shinigami powers," **H'tsu said and took a short break.

**"When the cub was born I was released from the woman but I was still locked inside the damn stripling. The shinigami powers lied dormant but somehow they still managed to seal me away and I was furious for it. Then when the stripling grew and he was given a name the chains that bound me slowly weakened and when Ichigo engaged in battle with a hollow fer the first time they finally lost their hold. The final trigger was the shinigami girl stabbing Aibou with her sword which nudged his dormant shinigami powers to awake. Since then I battled Aibou's Zanpakuto fer dominance of his mind but the old geezer was one persistent bastard. When I realized that if I killed Aibou I would kill myself as well, I and his Zanpakuto came to a mutual agreement. But then of course I couldn't just sit by idly and watch when the damn Zanpakuto failed tah protect my host, and thus I finally broke free to talk with Aibou. Of course we've never been able tah become friends and I only submit to him because I still haven't recovered all of my powers yet. It hasn't been a long time since I was freed but once I regain my strength Aibou will be tha horse and I will be king,"** H'tsu said with a smirk in his voice.

H'tsu once again snarled when Ichigo began battling furiously for his place on the throne again and soon enough the black bled out of Ichigo's eyes as he regained control of his mind.

"Damn hollow," Ichigo muttered beneath his breath before grinning sheepishly at Harribel.

"That was an interesting story, did you know of this Ichigo?" Harribel asked and was met with a scowling Ichigo this time.

"No I did not, and it pisses me off. If you excuse me I need to go see Aizen, I have to go back to the human world again, I have a bone to pick with my father," Ichigo said, all but snarling the last few words before pushing past Harribel to rush into Aizen's office.

**~~~Embrace the Enemy~~**

Ichigo shot out of the Garganta, not even offering a goodbye to Szayel whom had been forced away from his research to escort Ichigo back to Karakura town. He didn't even notice that he was quickly caught up to by his Shishou whom immediately asked where he had been and why he had just felt the distinct reiatsu signature of a Garganta nearby.

Ichigo simply snarled at Urahara, promptly delivering the message 'Leave me the fuck alone' before utilizing his Sonido to get to his home. He quickly phased through the walls and was met with Yuzu standing in the kitchen making dinner and Karin sitting on the couch playing a video game.

Karin immediately looked up when she felt a soul entering her home, and her eyes went wide with shock when she saw her dead brother run past her and through the door which lead to the clinic part of their house. Ichigo ran through the white halls of their small clinic until he reached the door which led to his father's office, and he burst the door open as he mustered the strength to solidify his soul.

Seconds after Isshin found himself pinned to the wall by a seriously pissed off Ichigo, his reaitsu pulsing off in angered waves as he finally had his father in his grasp.

"You! You've lied to us all this time!" Ichigo screamed into his father's face, his reaitsu pulsing even faster as his anger grew by the second. "You could've saved her, you could've saved mom but you didn't!" Ichigo shouted at his dad, pounding at his chest so hard it would surely leave bruises.

Isshin's eyes shrank when he recovered from te schock of seeing Ichigo bursting into his office, and soon realized why his son was so upset and just barely managed to notice that something was off with his reiatsu. Isshin placed firm hands on his son's shoulders and pushed him off of himself with a stern gaze.

"Ichigo my son, what happened to you. Where is your Zanpakuto?" Isshin asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that he had always known his son was a soul reaper.

"I sealed him away!" Ichigo screamed before struggling in his father's grip.

"Ichigo, calm down!" Isshin snarled and released his reaitsu forcing it down on Ichigo's shoulder to still his movements.

"How could you, how could you lie to me like that Otousan!" Ichigo said, the sentence beginning in a snarl but ending in a meek sob as he collapsed into his father's chest. "All this time I've struggled with my duties as a shinigami and you could've helped me!" Ichigo cried, fisting his hands into his father's lab coat.

"Shhh Ichigo my son…its ok…" Isshin tried to soothe his son.

"No, it's not ok!" Ichigo shouted before going silent and just cried into his father's chest.

"I never wanted for this to happen Ichigo. I never wanted you to discover your shinigami powers," Isshin whispered as he hugged his son close.

"Why?" Ichigo whispered back snuggling into the warmth his father offered.

Even though he was furious at his father he still couldn't say no to the comfort his sire was offering and he had nobody else to lean on, the few friends he still had were out of his reach and he could no longer rely on them, if you counted Sado out at least.

"Because Soul Society is a cruel place ruled by old laws, I didn't want you to end up in their claws. If they found out I had a child after I left Soul Society they would kill you," Isshin said, all but snarling the last words and cradling his son even closer.

"Do the girls know about me?" Ichigo whispered. "Karin definitely noticed something was off whenever you placed that Gikongai inside your body, but Yuzu isn't spiritually aware enough. But neither of them ever realized what you became after the hollow attacked you," Isshin answered truthfully.

"I wanted for us to live as a normal family after you were born. You were the sun of mine and your mother's life, and I hated to see you blaming yourself for her death. You're right; I could have saved her if I knew she was losing her powers. But I can't make excuses, even if she didn't have her powers when Grand Fisher attacked I should have been there to protect both of you," Isshin said, tears betraying his calm expression as they stained his face.

"I hated myself in the beginning, but I realized that I had you and your sisters to take care of. I couldn't allow myself to bathe in self-pity and abandon my children to deal with the loss of their mom on their own," Isshin sobbed.

Ichigo calmed down when his father didn't try to deny the fact that he could have saved his mom, and he realized what his father meant by Soul Society being a cruel place, and understood the actions his father had taken.

Isshin had done his best to protect his family after he fell in love with a Quincy girl which was more than liekly taboo in the laws of Soul Society since the two different species were mortal enemies, and he had done his best to protect the happiness he had gained from his life as a mortal. It had been hard for him to keep such secrets from his children, and he knew his son would find out one day. His son's reaitsu had been strong from the day he was born and Isshin knew that sooner or later he would lose the battle to protect his son's normal life.

"I understand that you might hate me now Ichigo, but know that I did it to protect you and your sisters," Isshin said silently.

"I don't hate you father, and I don't blame you either but it's a lot to take in," Ichigo answered and hugged his father close. "When I rescued Inoue, the hollow inside me went on a rampage and I nearly killed Ishida. He broke up with me after that and began courting Inoue. Inoue is afraid of me and calls me a monster. Yama-jii was furious with me for going against his orders and he forbade me from using my shinigami powers, so I sealed Zangetsu away. If I had defied them they would have killed me, and I couldn't stand having to walk around knowing I couldn't use my powers to protect even as much as I wanted to," Ichigo explained and he winced when his father clenched him painfully with a snarl.

"Now you know why I didn't want you involved with those people," Isshin snarled. "Such a cruel thing to do, I can't even phantom how hard it must've been for you my son. Though my powers weakened severely after my soul was linked with your mothers, I could at least fight of the weaker hollows to protect you and my family," Isshin said.

"What are you going to do now my son?" Isshin asked.

"Aizen has offered me a place within Hueco Mundo. I am going to embrace my hollow side and I am going to battle so that I can destroy and rebuild Soul Society into a better place," Ichigo said with a sterna and serious voice, determination clear in his voice.

"Then when the time comes I will aid you, my powers are returning to their full strength and I really want to knock some sense into Yama-jii myself," Isshin answered and kissed Ichigo's forehead.

"You're seriously not going to stop me from joining Aizen?" Ichigo asked and eyed his father with shock.

"No, I am not. Like me Aizen has seen and understood how wrong Soul Society is, and I admire him for the guts to leave Soul Society behind and start a resistance," Isshin answered truthfully.

"Thank you dad," Ichigo said before hugging his dad once more and sonidoed out of the room to head for his Shishou's shop so that he could apologize for his behavior earlier and explain to his Sensei just why he was siding with Aizen in the upcoming war. But Ichigo was oblivious to the two black clad 2nd division members following him and when H'tsu screamed

**"Aibou, watch out"** from inside his mind it was too late.

Ichigo felt a prick in the back of his neck and seconds after he began seeing double and soon consciousness left him as the drug entered his system. One of the black clad members took out his padger and sent a message to Sui-Feng.

**~Break~**

*Kurosaki Ichigo, successfully captured and immobilized. Mission accomplished,* the message read and in Soul Society a satisfied smirk spread across Sui-Feng's face as she rushed to report the success of her mission to the So-Tachou.

* * *

**Glossary?**

**Shishou – another word for Sensei, Teacher, Master etc.**

**Reishi – a term used to name the spirit particles which can be found in the air of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.**

**Aibou – Means Partner**

**Damaru Modasu – Please become silent**

* * *

**Wow, longest chapter I've ever written 0.0 **

**Anyways, the part where Ichigo gets to know that his mother is a Quincy, and that H'tsu used to be a part of Masaki, and the thing with Isshin giving up his powers to hinder H'tsu from taking over Masaki's body is true. Tite Kubo revealed the truth about Ichigo's parents and heritage in the manga, but I did a few tweaks and twists to it so it's a bit different from the manga. Anyone whom have followed the manga and read the chapters where the latter was revealed will know where I made my own tweaks XD**

**Hope you liked this chapter, and stay tuned for more XD**

**Note: H'tsu is a name developed by Nova Alexandria here on FanFiction. She made it because she thought Hichigo, Shiro and Ogichi was overused names for Ichigo's hollow and has said that anyone can use the name so long as she is given credit for it in your author notes XD**

**Please Review.**


	4. Ally turned enemy, enemy turned Ally!

**Ally turned Foe, Foe turned Ally!**

Ichigo's head was hurting, a very painful throbbing constantly banging against his inner walls as his eyes slowly flickered open after many failed attempts. The last thing Ichigo remembered was H'tsu's warning cry and a prick to his neck, and his mind began working out whom it was that could have assaulted him. It took a moment for the fog to clear from his mind and eyes, and when he finally got a proper look at his surroundings he found himself in a circular room with only one window.

It was deadly silent, he could even hear his own breath and that was not usual. Taking another look around himself something began clicking in his head. The room seemed oddly familiar, not because he had actually been there before but because Rukia had described something similar. Then it finally hit him, the tower of repentance, he was in the fucking tower of repentance!

His hands immediately crawled up to his neck and fell on something cold, and he realized he had a red collar of seki seki stone around his neck, just like Rukia had on her day of execution. Ichigo growled and tried raising his reiatsu, but found it immediately drained into the damned collar. Ichigo gave a frustrated growl before trying to get up from where he laid.

He was shocked at how incredibly powerless he felt, he had felt pretty powerless when he removed Zangetsu from his mind but this was something entirely different. He could register a vague voice trying to reach him from inside his mind, and he realized H'tsu was calling for him with a weak voice. Even whilst straining his ears to the max Ichigo could still not make out the words being called and his anger only grew.

If he was in the tower of repentance it could only mean either Genryusai or the Central 46 had ordered his execution. He couldn't believe that they were going to execute him after they already stripped him of his shinigami pride and powers, it was enraging. He could feel H'tsu clawing weakly against the restraints and for once he felt like he could go crazy and destroy everything in his path alongside his hollow.

It was perfectly clear to him now; Soul Society had abandoned him just because he was different. Just because he had unknown potential for achieving great power they decided he had to die. He knew Renji and Rukia and a few others would be furious, and for that he was grateful. But in the end there was nothing they could do to help their friend and Ichigo had no one else to back him up. Aizen was a possibility but unless he by some miracle had someone on the inside of Soul Society he couldn't possibly know that Ichigo had been captured and was being readied for execution.

He decided it was useless to try and fight the seki seki which was weighing down heavily on him; it was probably wise to at least try and save some of his reiatsu. He had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been out, or when they would come to get him so he simply began pacing around the room, stopping every now and then to slam an angry fist into the wall or kick at dust which was not there on the floor. He couldn't hear anything, feel anything or even smell anything inside this god damn tower.

The tower was designed like that so the prisoners inside would be forced to hear and feel only their own thoughts and emotions, but it wasn't designed for people to think about and repent for sins they hadn't committed. Ichigo thought of Rukia, and realized how hard it must have been for her as she sat inside the very same tower he was in, thinking she had committed a horrible sin by saving a human family from hollows.

Ichigo had done nothing wrong, yet here he was waiting for his end, alone and helpless. He felt the steady thrum coming from Zangetsu, but he knew he couldn't undo the seal to break out of the hellhole. If he did the whole of Seiretei would come at him with raised blades, and he would have no time to recover his lost reiatsu so that he could even attempt to fight through them all. Ichigo was about to roar his lungs out in frustration when an invisible door slid upwards and opened to let harsh sunlight inside the room and Ichigo had to squint his eyes as he tried to make out the figures approaching him.

When he finally got used to the light he managed to make out the 4 white clad shinigami which had their faces hidden that were approaching him, red leashes in their hands and he growled defiantly. But he knew resistance was futile as he was right now and he put up no fight at all as the four men attached one leash each to Ichigo's collar silently leading Ichigo out on the airborne bridge for all citizens of Seiretei to see.

Ichigo didn't hang his head low like most would expect, no though he did not resist he would not admit defeat and looked straight forward his eyes shining with fire as he was led to the Sokyoku hill for his execution. A new incredibly large Zanpakuto had been raised and Ichigo realized it must have been a sister sword to the one he had destroyed when rescuing Rukia as it was similar in shape and size.

He was stunned though when the Shinigami Taichou following him and the white clad man was no other than Zaraki Kenpachi. Ichigo had no trouble seeing how tense the large man was, his fists were clenched and his eyes sternly held forward as he guided Ichigo and his silent company towards the hill. Ichigo had to smile at the brute, Kenpachi had chosen to escort Ichigo as one of his few supporters and it was easy to see that Kenpachi was against the teen's execution.

"Thank you," Ichigo whispered to the man in front of him before going silent again, looking forward proudly as he was led towards his death.

He growled at a smirking Sui-Feng and a rather pleased looking Genryusai as he was led towards the three blocks which would raise him into the air. He could see Rukia was not present, but Renji was and his eyes met with Ichigo's for a brief moment. Renji's eyes were filled with rage and guilt at the same time, and the redheaded Shinigami kept his eyes averted and to the ground the whole time. Neither Ikakku nor Yumichika were there, same for Hanataro. All Taichou and Fukutaichou however had to be present, and Ichigo knew he still had the support of a few.

It was clear who supported him when he saw their averted gazes and their tense postures. Ukitake, Kyoraku, Zaraki, Hitsugaya and even Byakuya didn't meet his gaze; they couldn't stand having to look him in the eyes before what was a certain death. They were powerless to do anything and were forced to watch one whom they had put their hopes in die at the merciless power of the new slayer Zanpakuto.

Ichigo sent his silent thank you's to the one's still supporting him before he was finally raised into the air. He stared the released blade straight in the eye, not budging an inch for its impressive power as it finally moved back to prepare its strike of death. Ichigo didn't close his eyes when the bird like thing struck forward, he was hell bent on dying with pride and he would have if he hadn't heard the familiar sound of a Garganta tearing the sky open.

His head snapped to the left with wide eyes as Starrk, Harribel, Ulquiorra, Gin and Tosen stepped out of the black hole. A cero blasted past Ichigo and the angered screech of the slaying Zanpakuto could be heard as its attack was blocked. All the Taichou below gasped and Genryusai gave off an enraged snarl at whoever had interrupted the execution of the damned Kurosaki brat whom had stepped on his treasured rules so respectlessly, trying to bend and change them in his way.

He tried to figure out where the cero had come from and his eyes widened in rage when the cloud of dust disappeared to reveal Ichigo being released from broken squares as two very familiar Shinigami helped him loose. Ichimaru and Tosen looked right at him with angered eyes, well he wasn't sure since Tosen used sunglasses and Ichimaru never opened his eyes, but he could feel their angered reiatsu brushing with his own. Before anyone had time to react they were gone with Flash Step and inside an already closing Garganta.

"No!" Genryusai's enraged roar echoed through the silent air of the Seiretei as the last thing he saw before the Garganta closed was Ichigo's burning brown eyes and smug grin.

From that moment on, Genryusai swore a silent oath to personally grind the substitute Shinigami into dust with his own hands and flames, and no one would dare to try and steal his prey.

Besides him the Taichou were cringing under the heavy and angered sprit pressure of their Sotaichou, and though some were angered at the substitute's escape, some were relieved and held an invisible hand over their heart.

Near the towering pillars Kenpachi bent down to pick up a shining item on the ground. It looked like a necklace, and the pendant was a perfect copy of Tensa Zangetsu's guard. Kenpachi let his rough thumb glide over the smooth surface belonging to the pendant, and was shocked to find a slight sting in his thumb when he moved it away.

He slid his thumb over the pendant again and was met with the same stinging pain and his eyes widened when he studied the pendant closer. The pendant was giving off a steady thrum of shinigami reiatsu and he quickly realized what the necklace was. The necklace was Ichigo's shinigami powers which had so suddenly been reported missing with the boy, and he quickly sent a calming shot of his own reiatsu into the necklace.

He smiled inwardly when the thrum silenced and he quickly hid it within his Shihakusho before anyone had the chance to come over to see what he was doing. Kenpachi was given less credit than he deserved, he might seem like a knucklehead high on power from the outside, but in reality Kenpachi was smart and observant. Though he had some issues with controlling his reiatsu that didn't mean he didn't know a thing or two, and right now that was a good thing.

Kenpachi had high hopes for the boy, and even though he hated to admit it, he had a soft spot for the vigorous teen as well. It was just something with the brat that drew you in and Kenpachi had been caught. As they all hurried off to their squads again Kenpachi cradled Ichigo's necklace close, continuing to send reassuring bolts of reiatsu into the pendant in order to calm the obviously agitated Zanpakuto and it seemed to be working.

Kenpachi would guard Zangetsu with his life, and he quietly told the sword to stop spilling its reiatsu about so that he could wear it on a permanent basis. That way his eyes would never be taken off the very important item, and he could keep calming the Zanpakuto with his friendly presence. Kenpachi silently hoped the kid would train wherever he went, and come back to kick their asses so that Soul Society might finally experience a much needed change.

He grinned at the though, yes Ichigo would definitely be back to claim revenge and reform his world as he currently knew it, yes there was no doubt. The substitute shinigami would have his sweet revenge, alone or not he would crush the current Soul Society and rebuild it to experience a new era full of glory.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo groaned and held his head, as he once again found himself trying to open his heavy lidded eyes so that he could access his surroundings. After yet another round of failed attempts light was finally let in through slits as he forced his eyes to cooperate. His eyelids flicked a couple of times as his pupils adjusted their size to fit that of the amount of light present and slowly he regained a full non clouded vision so that he could take in his surroundings.

All Ichigo saw was white, stark white surrounding him and he feared he was back in the Tower of repentance. He sharpened his ears and flared his nose, relieved that he was able to hear the sound of feet shuffling outside the wall, and smell his own scent along with a few older ones. He shook his head briskly and turned his head in every direction slowly remembering the details which his eyes took in.

He recognized the bed he slept in, it reeked of his own scent and he smiled letting himself dump down into the ocean of pillows and blankets, a satisfied groan coming from parted lips as the comfy ocean hugged his sore and tired body close. He was damn near falling asleep again when a low knock sounded from the door. Ichigo scrunched his nose as the scent of the one knocking flew into his room

. It was definitely a male, but it had a slight feminine touch to it and Ichigo had to admit it was an oddly pleasant smell. He gently felt out the reiatsu of the person, finding comfort in the fact that he felt no ill intent in the pressure. Though still deprived of his own reiatsu he could still feel others presence, so he still had a way of knowing when approached or not.

"It opens," he called and the door was gently opened and Ichigo was surprised to find the odd pink haired Espada entering his room.

"Szayelaporro Grantz Octava Espada," the arrancar presented himself and Ichigo gave a meek smile at the man.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, but you probably already knew," Ichigo said managing to put on a sheepish grin as he dragged himself into a sitting position.

"I would advise to not move around too much, it causes unnecessary strain on your body and that is much preferred not to happen until we can remove the seki seki stone around your neck," the man clinically spoke.

"Oh sorry," Ichigo said and stopped his attempt to get up. "I take it you are the scientist of this place yes?" Ichigo chuckled, and was awarded with a rather proud looking smile from the pink haired man.

"Why of course, have you met anyone else whom might even be near the chance of qualifying for such a position?" Szayel asked and walked up to stand beside Ichigo's bed while he drew a board out from inside his uniform.

"No, I can't say that I have," Ichigo said eyeing the board with an understanding gaze. "You're here to check my condition aren't you?" Ichigo asked and got a slightly shocked expression from the scientist.

"Well under other circumstances that would have been the case, I am actually delighted to finally encounter someone whom at least do not try and run away from a medical examination. But to prove your suggestion wrong I am not here to check your condition," Szayel said and sat down on a chair which had conveniently been placed at the door side of Ichigo's bed.

"Then may I ask what you are here for?" Ichigo questioned and eyed the Espada with surfacing curiosity.

"As much as I would love to go into detail seeing as I finally have the chance to talk with someone half intelligent, I will make it short. I am here to explain to you the only way there is to remove that despicable collar around your neck," Szayel said, Ichigo scowling at the half intelligent comment before brushing it off.

"I am afraid to break you the bad news, but the only way of forcing that seki seki stone into submission is by you having sexual intercourse with someone of high Reaitsu levels. Now I need you to answer me this, are you a virgin?" Szayel asked and smirked inwardly at the furious blush that crept across Ichigo's face.

"Is there really no other way?" Ichigo asked.

"No, the joining of two Reaitsu during sexual intercourse is one of the strongest forces nature can provide. seki seki stone is a product of nature and cannot be tamed with scientific means, thus this is the best way to approach the matter," Szayel explained in his clinical way.

"And what does me being a virgin or not have to do with it?" Ichigo asked, his blush finally gone as he regained his composure accepting having to take a blow to his pride if he wanted his strength back.

"If you are a virgin or not decide how strong your partner will have to be. If you are a virgin the chances of success increases by 30 percent since the first joining of a virgin is exceptionally stronger than that of two non-virgins," Szayel explained.

"Well in that case, I am a virgin," Ichigo admitted, no blush tainting his features this time.

"Well then, anyone above my rank will do as your partner. Though I need to inform you of the fact that Harribel is off limits as well as Ulquiorra, for reasons they do not want known for the moment. Your partner will be male and the best way for you to break the seki seki stone if is you play the submissive one. I do not know of your sexual preference but I ask of you to comply," Szyael said. "I understand," Ichigo began. He knew Szayel spoke the truth, Ichigo liked people watching and he was observant. Like with Aizen he could see the sincerity behind his words by looking into Szayel's golden eyes.

"So I have to choose between Grimmjow and Starrk then?" Ichigo asked.

"Not quite, there are two more offering to help you with your rather special condition. Ichimaru and Aizen-sama offers their hand in the matter as well, though why Aizen-sama would degrade himself to such things is beyond my understanding," Szayel said muttering the last part before awaiting Ichigo's answer.

Ichigo weighed up his choices, a deep scowl settling on his face. Grimmjow was a definite no; the panther would see it as a golden opportunity to humiliate him in the worst way possible. Ichimaru creeped him out, and Starrk…Well Starrk just didn't quite fit the task, so that left Aizen. Although Ichigo was uncertain of the man's true intentions and motives, he knew that Aizen would not use his Zanpakuto because Ichigo had been found immune to its power. Aizen could not delude Ichigo with fantasies and tamper with his mind, so Ichigo silently concluded Aizen was the best option, realizing Aizen was probably the man whom would treat him with most respect.

"For several reasons I have decided for Aizen. As you yourself said I too have no idea as to why he would offer to do this, but alas I have reasons for not selecting any of the other I think Aizen is my safest option… With him I might have a slight chance at keeping a more or less intact pride and honor," Ichigo said and Szayel nodded. The scientist would have thought Ichigo would choose Starrk, he would have had he been faced with the same situation, but the teen had gone for Aizen instead, it amused him in a way.

"Then if you would follow me, I shall escort you to Aizen-sama's private chambers, you may lean on me if you find walking a difficult task," Szayel said and Ichigo took him up on that offer, putting some of his weight on the smaller man, grateful for the offer as he was led down yet more of the stark white hallways.

"Here we are, you may enter and prepare yourself, Aizen-sama will arrive shortly," Szayel said and opened a large door for Ichigo.

Ichigo was mildly surprised to find that Aizen's private chambers weren't stark white. Instead the walls were painted a pastel grey, decorated with silver patterns of veins, leaves and majestic falcons soaring on the canvas which was the wall. The floor was a black rug and there was even a lit heart in one end of the room, which brought a golden glow to embrace everything in the room.

There was a large four poster bed in the opposite end of the hearth, decorated with purple satin covers and black sheets to match the floor, a beautifully carved headboard completing the look. The room was really inviting in Ichigo's mind and he shuffled over to the couch, unsure of where to place himself as he dropped down nervously on the leather couch which was in front of the hearth.

Ichigo was so exhausted and tired, every bone in his body aching and every muscle screaming for rest as the painful lack of reiatsu still tormented his body in the worst ways possible. Ichigo was on the verge of blacking out on the couch when the door was opened with grace and a worried looking Aizen stepped inside his quarters.

"Ichigo, my god how good it is to see you safe and unhurt. How are you feeling?" Aizen asked his words genuine as he quickly made his way over to the teen which was eyeing him nervously.

"Like I might just turn into ash and blow away with the wind, I'm so weak and pathetic right now. I hate it!" Ichigo answered the last part literally growled with as much venom in his voice that even Aizen was amazed.

"Seki seki stone is a cruel thing," Aizen said as he sat down on the couch with Ichigo.

He eyed the tired hybrid quickly, noticing how tired and utterly broken the boy looked. It pained his heart, but it was quickly shadowed by his want for the teen's inviting body. Aizen had wanted to claim the boy ever since he first laid eyes on him, but he was not a man that would stain and tarnish his innocence by using the kid for his own satisfaction. No Aizen cared for the boy and hated seeing ill befall him and truly wished he could make this memory a pleasurable one for the teen.

"Look Ichigo," Aizen began and was struck silent for a moment when Ichigo's brown and revealing eyes met his.

The teen was scared, nervous and ashamed, it was so painfully obvious in the chocolate depths of his depths and Aizen smiled gently at the young boy whom had already seen so much for one his age.

"I know this is probably a scary thing, and that it takes a lot to lay down your pride to allow this to happen, but it is necessary. I do not want to leave you with bad memories, so I ask you to relax so that I can pleasure you and make this an enjoyable event. I know you probably did not want to lose your virginity in such a way, and that you might not be interested in men, but please do not let that stop you from enjoying what is about to happen. There is no need to feel ashamed," Aizen said stroking a gentle thumb across Ichigo's chin locking eyes with the teen.

"Thanks Aizen, but I came here prepared and your words are nice and reassuring. It is true I did not want my first time to be like this but there is no way around. I am not so stubborn that I will abandon my own life in order to keep my pride intact, what must be done shall be done. I need power so that I can protect those I still hold dear, I need power so that I can do what I enjoy the most, and that is fighting. And it is not as though the thought of sleeping with another man hasn't struck me, I never seemed to have much interest in women anyway," Ichigo said, grinning at Aizen before leaning on the brunettes shoulder in a rare show of trust.

"For this night I'll entrust my body to you Aizen, do take care of me," Ichigo said and shivered slightly when Aizen gently pecked him on the forehead before scooping him up to gently lay him down on the large bed, Ichigo smiling shyly at the man whom would take his virginity.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo's body shivered, and his skin got goose bumps as Aizen's experienced fingers ran lightly across his abdominal muscles, making them contract slightly before relaxing as the touch tickled ever so slightly. Ichigo didn't dare trying to watch what Aizen would do next, and simply settled for accepting whatever he felt and try to enjoy as much of it as possible.

Aizen glanced up at the teen before humming to himself, deciding to take it a step forward. He smirked at Ichigo's gasp when his warm tongue connected with Ichigo's surprisingly smooth yet scarred skin as he relished in the salty taste of Ichigo's skin. Ichigo might look like a beauty and have the most perfect build and skin, but that did not make him any less male.

Up close Ichigo was revealed to be 100 percent male from the inside out and god didn't Aizen love how incredibly sensual and tasty his virgin body looked. Aizen loved being able to feel Ichigo's first reactions to sensual touches, loved seeing how his muscles would coil or how his limbs would shake or tremble ever so slightly at his gentle caresses. Ichigo was as open as a book, and Aizen could read him easily.

Ichigo bent his head back into the pillows as Aizen's tongue snaked its way up, stopping to prod at his navel before continuing its journey up, making sure to tease each nipple just enough for Ichigo to want more, before stopping at the hollow of his collar bones nipping ever so slightly with blunt teeth. Ichigo squirmed just a tiny bit under him and Aizen forced himself to keep an approving snarl from escaping his lips in excitement.

Aizen smiled against Ichigo's skin before continuing his path and stopped to nibble at his jugular and then moving forward to lick at Ichigo's jaw before nibbling gently at his ear lobe. To Ichigo Aizen's touch riled his very core up, his touch burned in a pleasant way and made him anticipate what would come next. He had never realized his body could be so sensitive, and even though he was a bit ashamed of his reactions and sounds he still relished in the feeling of being cared for so gently.

Aizen kept his promise and kept a steady and calm pace for Ichigo to follow on, and Ichigo was really comfortable under Aizen's administrations. When Aizen's breath ghosted past his ears his spine tingled and his breath hitched just a bit before he let out a very low and barely audible moan. Ichigo felt Aizen sneak his hands underneath his body and wondered what the man would do, only to let out a satisfied moan as Aizen's lean fingers went in through his stiff muscles and worked them loose, relieving much of Ichigo's tension.

Aizen smiled at the very sexy moan that had escaped the teen and realized just how tense the boy's muscles were. It wasn't long before Ichigo's shoulders had been thoroughly taken care of, and now Aizen was administering the same soothing touch to his abdominal muscles and lower back, along with the ones closest to his groin on the inner of his thighs.

When Aizen stopped Ichigo felt as if half of the tension in his body was gone and he let out a relieved sigh much to Aizen's joy. He gasped when Aizen's devious hands began kneading his now erect and sensitized nipples, and his lips was caught just in time to stifle a very audible moan which escaped him. Aizen's tongue ran across his lips asking for entrance and Ichigo hesitantly opened up allowing Aizen to explore unknown territory.

Aizen played with Ichigo's tongue and enticed him to do the same and after some hesitant tries Ichigo got into the rhythm of their sensual waltz and danced on par with Aizen, both of them moaning low into their mouths, Ichigo subconsciously sneaking his hands around Aizen's neck to push him closer. When they broke apart for air Ichigo's cheeks were flushed a beautiful red and Aizen licked his lips in a sensual way at the sight, still not fully comprehending the fact that he would be the first one to taste this beautiful creature beneath him.

Aizen wanted to thank the seki seki stone for this opportunity, but caught himself from doing so, knowing that he should hate the collar and try to get it off of the young fighter beneath him. Ichigo tilted his head forward from its resting place on the pillow mountain and for the first time since they started locked eyes with the ex-Taichou.

What Ichigo found in the farthest depths of those brown eyes were lust, concern, love, awe all seasoned with a bit of anger. Ichigo scowled for just a second before smiling at Aizen. Aizen gave him a look that asked and Ichigo squeezed his arm a tiny bit, letting the brown haired man know it was safe to proceed to the final stage.

Ichigo watched as Aizen reached behind him to bring back a bottle of lube, and Ichigo gulped as Aizen somehow managed to make coating his own fingers with the white substance look incredibly sexy and appealing, his movements slow and sensual to not scare the inexperienced teen. Aizen let his fingers rest on Ichigo's abs so that the cold fluid would warm up, and used his other hand to gently knead and massage Ichigo's cheeks, a finger sneaking in to ghost along his cleft every now and then.

As Aizen stopped kneading his ass and moved his lubed fingers down to Ichigo's red and virgin entrance, the man could feel Ichigo tense ever so little and he looked up with concern in your eyes.

"Ichigo, are you sure?" Aizen asked in his cotton soft voice and Ichigo looked at him with hazy, slightly unfocused eyes.

"Might as well get on with it, I'd really like this collar off of me," Ichigo said with a soft smile and Aizen gave of a warm chuckle.

Ichigo winced slightly as Aizen gently pushed a finger inside of him, and he had a soft scowl of discomfort on his face which led Aizen to stop for a moment. When the scowl faded he began moving his finger in and out, hooking the outer joints to rub gently at Ichigo's silken walls. After repeating a set of movements he added a second finger, Ichigo only pulling his lip a tiny bit at the added intrusion and Aizen continued his administrations.

After a while he picked up the speed in which he plunged the digits inside Ichigo and scissored them as a means of stretching the boy. All the while he searched for the sport which would make Ichigo arch his back into the air and cry out, but he couldn't seem to find it with his fingers leading him to think that his sweet spot lay hidden deep within his cavern.

Up until now Ichigo had been the only one completely naked, while Aizen had kept his hakama on and now Aizen removed the white garment. His erection proudly showed itself through his fundoshi and he opted to rub his bulge along Ichigo's cleft a couple of times to get Ichigo used to the feeling, while giving small teasing strokes to Ichigo's semi-erect member making it harden a bit more.

He leaned forward to capture Ichigo in a hot kiss, massaging a nipple with one hand, increasing the force he used on Ichigo's dick with the other which soon led the boy into an all-out proud erection. Aizen was mildly surprised at how big the teen actually was, realizing he would probably only outmatch the orangette by 3 centimeters at max.

Ichigo's slender and light build had once again fooled him to make wrong guesses and Aizen smirked slightly at the thought. He returned one of his fingers to keep Ichigo's entrance readied while he undid his fundoshi with the other, giving his own member a few satisfying strokes as it sprang out of the constraining garment. Aizen groaned ever so slightly before opening the lube to coat his member thoroughly with the cold substance, his skin chilling slightly at the cool feeling.

He licked his lips as he looked down at Ichigo, whom was looking back at him with a tad more lust filling his eyes. Aizen repositioned himself and lined up with Ichigo, leaving the head of his dick to rest lightly against Ichigo's twitching entrance.

"This is going to hurt a lot to begin with, but I promise it will get better so just bear with it," Aizen explained and at Ichigo's approval he gently pressed through the circular muscle, sliding himself in with caution and care looking for any sign of panic in the young shinigami's eyes.

Ichigo let out a strangled whimper as his spine was wracked with immense pain, his eyes seeing stars as his vision blacked out for a few seconds, his whole body tensing at the large and foreign intrusion. After a few minutes the pain devolved to a dull and manageable ache and he suddenly felt a wave of need and lust wash over him.

"Move," he all but ordered Aizen and a smirk appeared on the latter's face at the rather bold command.

Aizen slid out of the incredibly tight cave and slid in with more force this time going deeper into that unexplored territory. Ichigo winced slightly at the action, the pain still there on the surface but this time accompanied by a tiny bit of pleasure tingling his spine. Aizen continued the small pace until the discomfort finally cleared from Ichigo's face and he picked up the strength of his thrusts and the speed, and he moaned loudly as he relished in how Ichigo's muscles clamped down on him as he pulled out only to give him free entrance when he pushed in again. Soon his own sensual and lusty moans were entering a duet with Ichigo's increasing amount of whimpers, mewls and moaning as Ichigo experienced pleasure beyond what he could have imagined.

"Damn it, so…hah…good…ha- ah-arder…" Ichigo panted and Aizen growled in approval of Ichigo's plea and submissive behavior.

Ichigo in a moment of instinct bared his throat to his dominant and Aizen snarled latching on to nibble and graze the skin of his jugular with blunt teeth, as he increased the force behinds his thrusts, still amazed he had not yet hit the teen's sweet spot. He decided to try an even deeper thrust and was delighted when Ichigo arched his back and cried out, the teen seeing stars as his vision clouded and electric pleasure wracked his entire spine, leaving him with a tingling sensation as Aizen pulled out.

"Fuck…Aizen…Do that again!" Ichigo panted and Aizen quickly rammed into the teen again to be awarded with a new arousing cry from the teen.

"Keep it up god damn it!" Ichigo snarled and Aizen started a rough and brutal pace made Ichigo break out in a heavy sweat, yowls, whimpers and loud cries of pleasure escaping Ichigo's mouth as he rode the rhythm and met Aizen's thrusts as best he could to increase the pleasure.

By now Ichigo was subconsciously tightening and releasing Aizen's dick in a rhythm matching the man's thrusts, and Ichigo soon felt a slightly familiar warm coiling in his gut. He had felt it before when touching himself, but god damn it was nowhere near this. A few more thrusts and that warm coiling became painfully intense and Ichigo began panting furiously.

"Hah…fuck…gonna cum…soon," Ichigo said, his words a mix of snarls and moans as he let his dominant know of his situation.

"So incredibly tight…I'm going to cum as well, can I inside?" Aizen managed to say with a completely steady voice, appearing to not be pounding into the teen like a wild animal as he spoke.

"Fuck," Ichigo cursed as Aizen thrust into him. "For fucks sake, yes cum inside!" Ichigo snarled and Aizen growled loudly.

Pulling back he sent all of his strength to his lower parts as he bit down on Ichigo's jugular strong enough to pierce the skin, and as he thrust inside he forced his reaitsu into the wound as they both came together, Ichigo's reaitsu bursting out him with a much needed burst from Aizen's own and Ichigo was finally freed as the seki seki collar shattered and crumbled to dust under the heavy reaitsu.

Aizen stayed inside Ichigo as he rode out his strongest orgasm ever before pulling out to roll of the teen, noticing that the bite he'd made was already gone, not even a scar present to tell of their lovemaking. Ichigo was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling in big motions as he too rode out his most intense orgasm ever.

"Damn," Ichigo cursed as he slid up to a sitting position, relishing in the feeling of his strength returning before reality washed over him and he blushed ferociously.

He had just had sex for the first time, with the king of the Espada nonetheless, and he had enjoyed it, and to top it off his partner was male! Ichigo had a small panic attack as he freaked out inside his own mind when an echoing voice reached him.

**"Calm down Aibou… S perfectly normal… Anyone woulda enjoyed tha'!" **H'tsu said, damn near purring the last words. **"Might wanna offer 'im anotha round 'metime, I certainly wouldn' mind," **H'tsu purred and relived the feeling he had gotten together with his King.

_"H'tsu what the fuck!"_ Ichigo shouted back at his hollow, his blush deepening at his counterpart's words. _"This was a onetime thing to get me outta the fucking collar and no more!"_ Ichigo bellowed at the top of his lungs.

**"Keep tellin' yerself tha', I know ya enjoyed it Aibou,"** H'tsu chuckled.

_"How the hell would you know of anything I feel?"_ Ichigo snarled.

**"I'm part of yah, I feel, see and hear everythin' ya do an' think baka. Really yer so short it pisses me off,"** H'tsu mocked him with a sadistic grin all over his face.

_"Oh fuck you!"_ Ichio growled before shoving his hollow to the back of his mind so as to return to reality, only to find Aizen staring at him in a weird manner.

"What?" Ichigo asked with a nervous chuckle, his situation completely forgotten for the time being.

"Are you ok, you seemed to be completely lacking consciousness for a moment," Aizen said and gazed at Ichigo with worry in his eyes this time.

"Oh," Ichigo face palmed himself with a sheepish grin. "Internal debate, sorry if I scared you," Ichigo explained.

"Oh not at all, wait you can actually communicate with your hollow?" Aizen asked curious to know about this, since that wasn't the case with any of the previous Vizored.

"Yeah, although he's constantly trying to kill me and we always end up fighting or ignoring each other, he can be a real ass at times," Ichigo said.

**"Hey!"** H'tsu piped up in the back of his mind but Ichigo decided to keep ignoring his darker half.

"I see," Aizen said, getting a look of wonder on his otherwise expressionless face.

"If you don't mind I'd like to clean myself up before I leave your quarters," Ichigo said as he finally noticed how sweaty he was, in addition to the semen splayed across his abdomen.

"Of course, the bathroom is through that door over there. Feel free to use anything you like," Aizen quickly said pointing to the left of the hearth with a warm smile.

"I'll be leaving now, I have things to do but I'll be back to check on you later," Aizen said as he dressed himself in clean clothes and left the room.

**-Break-**

Ichigo sighed as the warm water rinsed his body of the filth reminding him of his recent firsthand experience with sexual intercourse, and he blushed furiously at the memory. The way Aizen had made him feel was indescribable, it was thoroughly enjoyable and god damn if he hadn't enjoyed himself. If this was what sex would be like with everyone then he was not complaining, he mused for himself with a slight smile.

He sighed deeply seconds after as reality once again bared its fangs at him. He had to face the truth at some point and he began rambling inside his mind once again.

He was being hunted by Soul Society, forced to go against some of his most loyal friends. He had been abandoned by his first love and had been shunned by the girl whom had admired him for so long. He had closed himself off from his shinigami powers, and it made him feel empty in a way, like something very important was missing. He had just lost his virginity to a man whom he barely knew, and he had become a permanent resident within the home of his darker half, Hueco Mundo. He had just been told the truth about his heritage from his bat shit crazy hollow, and he was utterly powerless and dead.

His whole life had been torn apart and thrown of its pillars of support, only to be thrown into a washer to churn around and return as something completely different and no he had basically no one. No one to protect and no one to go to for support. It was official, his life was totally fucked and he was a weak ass pathetic coward whom couldn't even hold on to what little he had, and he hated himself for it. Why couldn't his soul have passed on when that bullet ripped through his head, it seemed like a much more appealing fate than the current situation.

Ichigo groaned and a silent tear escaped his eye to blend with drops of water as he hunched forward to rest his head heavily on the cold tile wall. He had no idea of what to do, where to go or how to live his life anymore. Did he truly deserve his fate, or had he maybe been able to lead a happier life if he hadn't awoken his powers? Everything was such a big fucking mess, and right in between his rambling H'tsu decided to torment him even more. **"**

**Suck it up King. Stop wailin' like a spoiled brat and fight. Else I will devour you and take over yer body, 'n I'll grind anyone who ever hurt ya…**_**us…**_**to fuckin' dust beneath our feet. Drag yer sorry ass up of tha ditch and stand up like ya always do, don't ya fuckin dare givin' up and turn into someone I can't serve," **H'tsu yelled inside his mind. His hollow was right, he was completely fucking right and Ichigo hated it.

Like he knew how tough everything was, how much he had gone through and how much he had seen. It wasn't that god damn easy, even a strong man would have trouble when faced with everything Ichigo had battled his way through.

**"Ya seem tah ferget I am part of ya," **H'tsu snarled again. **"I hear what you hear, I feel what you feel, I see what you see and ya dun see me cowerin' in a corner cryin' tah no one about our problems do yah?!" **H'tsu bellowed at him.

**"And tah tell ya, I ain't a fuckin' bastard and I ain't tryin tah torment yah… Just fuckin' listen tah me fer once, I'm yer god damn instinc remember?" **H'tsu snarled.

Ichigo froze at that moment, the moment when H'tsu ended his rant he realized. His hollow was right, he couldn't let himself waver. He had to stand up strong and proud, so that he could face his enemies head on like he always did. He would recover, and he would train and he would come back to crush Yamamoto Genryusai to dust, and then step on him before doing a much needed makeover for the Soul Society.

Mind set he entered his inner world and looked around for his hollow counterpart. Upon finding him he casually walked up to his hollow, right hooking his jaw but holding the man so that he couldn't fly off.

**"Wha' was tha' fo-," **H'tsu began with a snarl, the hollow freezing when his words were drowned out by colorful lips connecting with his own, promptly silencing him.

When Ichigo broke the kiss, H'tsu fell down on his butt onto the windows of the blue skyscraper with wide eyes. Ichigo smiled shyly and knelt down embracing his hollow warmly.

_"Thanks H'tsu, I appreciate it,"_ Ichigo said.

At those words H'tsu felt part of his being warm up and just as he was about to reach out so that he could kiss his King again, Ichigo faded from their inner world and he was once more left alone in the silent world.

**"Keh, damn tease. One shag and he thinks he's a fuckin' sex god er somethin'," **H'tsu growled with a slight pout on his lips before his signature grin was back in place. **"Oh well, maybe I'll get a better reward next time I decide tah help 'im out," **he snickered before leaning back to rest, his eyes sliding closed as he fell asleep feeling content for the first time since he arrived in this twisted world.

**"Do yer best Aibou,"** he silently muttered before succumbing to sleep.

* * *

**Ohmerfawking god, such a long chapter lol… And AizenIchi ftw XD **

**Before you berate me for the pairing or try to crucify me know that I am not much of an AizenIchi fan… This was written due to it demanding to be part of the plot, and there might even be more in later chapters. Since I generally don't like Aizen's character I don't approve much of the AizenIchi pairing, but I'll admit that for sexual use their pairing can be quite hot (when you look away from Aizen's wicked personality lol) Anyways, a bit H'tsuIchi in this as well, and I must admit that HichiIchi, ShiroIchi or whatever you wanna call it is one of my top Yaoi pairings for Bleach XD Slowly and steady their relationship will turn for the better, you better look forward to it XD Basically this is a EspadaIchigo fic, meaning there is no set pairing. Though Ichigo may end up with a few preferences he will have no set partner, so look forward to a lot of fanservice for anyone approving of any Espada/Arrancar x Ichigo pairing..**

**Hope you enjoyed, and please do review **


	5. A sinner's request

**A sinner's request**

Ichigo sat atop one of the many towers of Las Noches as the artificial sun sunk down in the horizon to be replaced by the silver moon. A light breeze whirled up the sands beneath him and Ichigo smiled slightly as the gentle wind caressed his skin and danced with his hair. He'd always loved the wind, the way it sang to him when he turned to face it head on, the way it could caress him softly one moment and then ravage him in the next.

If he had the choice he would have had the wings of an eagle and soar through the evening sky, so that he could gaze upon the world without worry and be totally free. Yeah that seemed like paradise, what he wouldn't give to do that. Whenever the wind blew he felt lighter, he could feel his mother sing to him within those winds. She was never gone completely, she was always there watching over him and whenever he needed to calm down she would send her warm winds to aid her son

. As Ichigo visualized his mom's gentle face and always smiling eyes his heart dropped another level, and a silent tear escaped his eye. If Grand Fisher had never arrived, then his mom would still be here to warm him up and soothe his pains. She would be there to give him strength and hope when he needed it the most, and she would be his voice of reason when he was confused and mislead.

If she was still alive then he might have never awakened his shinigami prowess and maybe he wouldn't have had to go through all that he had done. He had his fair share of trouble without the power but being a death god had put him through hardships a 16 year old teenage boy should have never seen or experienced, and yet he had stubbornly battled through every wave that sought to swallow him and he had survived.

All to honor his mom and protect his family and friends, and look where it had gotten him. He was dead, an exile and he had been betrayed by his first love and a girl which he cared for deeply. It pained him so much, and yet he was sure that if they ended up in danger he'd have no means of hindering himself from coming to their rescue. He had no real place to be anymore, he didn't belong in the human world, nor did he belong in The Court of pure souls, nor did he completely belong inside the home of the hollows.

He had no place in which he truly felt at ease no more, and there was no one there to help him out. He was grateful for Aizen's hand, but every time he thought about the unavoidable battle that was lurking in the future, it felt like a thousand tons of weight was added to his body. Ichigo furiously shook his head when the wind stopped flowing trying to stop his inner ranting. He couldn't afford to take pity on himself, not when he had been asked for assistance in a war that would shake the spiritual realms of earth.

He needed to build up his strength, he needed to hone his skills and fuel his honor and pride. He needed to face this large wave head on and slice it in two, and he needed to prove himself so that he could change the world and make it into a better place. He sighed heavily for the umpteenth time that day and crossed his feet, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands as his eyes slid closed.

When he opened them the growling of thunder tore at his ears and the snarling whipping of icy rain pricked his skin. He was momentarily blinded as lightning struck a few blocks away and he looked around. His inner world had changed, gone were the tall and proud skyscrapers, and in their place stood small buildings for families, the slim streets flooded by raging water as they became rivers in front of his eyes.

Ichigo shuddered in the cold temperature and moved to find shelter. As he flew across one of the raging streets he was hit by something hard and he gave off a pained grunt as flesh connected with flesh. He whimpered slightly when he crashed through the roof of one of the small buildings and barely had time to dodge as he got to his feet, his eyes widening as a pale hand with deadly claws brushed past him. Ichigo tried to make out the figure in the dim light of his inner world, and when furious gold lit up in the dark to stare right him he gawked.

_"H'tsu!" _he gasped only to be kicked harshly to the side by bare feet, black talons digging into his side harshly making him let out a pained mewl.

He got to his feet and clenched his side as warm blood seeped out between his fingers. Ichigo glared at the Vasto Lorde in front of him, catching the plain Katana which was suddenly thrown at him with ease.

_"If you say so!"_ Ichigo snarled and lunged at the incredibly powerful hollow, only to be blocked by the hierro covering H'tsu's skin.

A runbling laughter came from within that dreadful mask and Ichigo snarled, barely managing to dodge the swing of talons directed at his throat. Ichigo used what he could make of his Sonido and moved behind H'tsu and pretended to swing down, H'tsu moving to parry the fake blow. Ichigo quickly disappeared from his predatory gaze as the white hand spun to block his blade, and he reappeared at his now unguarded back and brought the frail Katana down, successfully cutting through the hierro this time watching in satisfaction as green blood seeped out of the shallow cut.

H'tsu growled at him and lashed out with hooked talons and Ichigo dodged by a hairs breath and hissed as his cheek stung from being scratched by those deadly claws. After just a few blows Ichigo was already feeling tired and was beginning to wonder why H'tsu wanted a fight. Was he upset with the weather? No he wouldn't try to kill him just because of that, H'tsu always had a good reason for his deadly attempts to mangle Ichigo's body with his claws.

Ichigo panted heavily, the dense rain blurring his vision as he lunged for his counterpart yet again, this time only succeeding in cutting part of the long white mane belonging to H'tsu. H'tsu's hand came swinging in and Ichigo was hurled into a house yet again. He cried out in distress when the building collapsed on top of him and he was caught under heavy wooden beams.

A devilish laughter escaped H'tsu as he approached his King and knelt down, placing a black talon under the orangette's chin tilting it up so that he could look at the pained expression in his counterparts face. Just then everything froze for Ichigo and his thoughts began running wild.

There was something strange with the way H'tsu fought. Normally he was way more reckless and forceful; Ichigo would probably have been dead as soon as the battle started if H'tsu hadn't devolved his abilities to a level Ichigo could handle in his current state. Why would he do that? H'tsu didn't seem to care for anyone but himself, and he seemed to fight only for his own gain. Why was he holding back, why wasn't he just killing Ichigo like he could have? Ichigo's mind churned and cooked his thoughts as he tried to figure out H'tsu's motives.

When time began moving again H'tsu was still kneeling in front of him. Ichigo squinted his eyes as he swam deep into the depths of the Vasto Lorde's golden eyes. That's when Ichigo saw something he thought he would never find within those flaming depths. What he found was the answer to the battle and he squirmed under the building again.

H'tsu watched him with amused eyes before raising his claws to finally finish Ichigo off, but he didn't get to finish as Ichigo gathered what little reiatsu he had and blasted the crumbled building away from his being. H'tsu looked at him with slightly shocked eyes before he laughed again and lunged for Ichigo. Ichigo dodged and sent his fist into H'tsu's horned mask, his Katana buried somewhere inside the building.

They continued exchanging blows until Ichigo was kneeling on the wet pavement, panting and bleeding from multiple cuts. None of them serious enough to end his life however and as Ichigo got up on shaky feet he locked in a staring contest with his hollow. While doing so Ichigo felt a mild tugging at his body and he scowled, wondering what it could be, not quite figuring out that someone had found his body on top of the tower.

Outside of Ichigo's mind a certain blue haired devil was trying to get Ichigo's attention as he looked at his bloodied and battered body. Grimmjow's eyes were widening with every passing second as more cuts and bruises appeared on Ichigo's body for each passing minute, a pool of blood gathering around his silent figure.

"Oi Kurosaki, wake the hell up! The hells goin' on with ya?" Grimmjow shouted, shaking Ichigo's wounded body furiously but failing to make the orangette come out of his transe.

Grimmjow hadn't even managed to make Ichigo's body change position and it was locked in the meditation like position even as Grimmjow did his best to wake the teen up. Even as much as he hated those brown eyes who mocked him, he didn't really want to see the teen dead. Besides if Aizen found out he had let the teen die he would surely be killed in the worst possible way for his incompetence.

Back within Ichigo's body Ichigo exchanged blows with his hollow counterpart again. He was worn out, and he could barely parry or escape H'tsu's vicious claws, and he was being dealt more damage than he had ever dealt any of his enemies in total. Ichigo moved out of H'tsus range once again, but this time he finally fell to the ground and was unable to stand up again.

He knelt on the ground watching H'tsu with calm and accepting eyes. H'tsu of course didn't notice, until Ichigo shot his arms out just as H'tsu's claws shot through his chest right where his hollow hole had appeared that fateful day, shattering his newly formed soul chain with ease. H'tsu's mask cracked open and his resurreccion faded as he stared at his King wide eyed, catching Ichigo as he fell limply into his chest.

**"Why?!"** H'tsu shouted hugging his King close as fear shot through his entire body.

_"Because I finally understand. I finally understand your pain, the pain of being alone and despised by your own soul," _Ichigo said his voice gurgling as blood spilled from his mouth.

H'tsu went still at those words, falling back to kneel in front of his King. For the first time the hollow felt warmth spreading through his entire being, accompanied by overwhelming fear as he realized his Aibou was dying.

_"I finally realized that you are me, that you cannot kill me even if you wanted to. That you have helped me in so many ways yet I have never acknowledged it because I was afraid of your powers. I childishly hid behind Zangetsu and I loathed you. I know now, you are me and I am going to embrace that, you'll never be alone again," _Ichigo said as he shakily reached out to drag H'tsu into a hug.

He smiled when pale shaking hands moved up to return the hug, and shortly after he heard dry sobs come from his hollow as H'tsu buried his head in the crook of Ichigo's neck**. **

**"M so sorry Aibou, 'm so sorry," **H'tsu hitched and fisted his hands into the coat Ichigo was wearing.

_"Don't be, you're the sole reason I survived. If I didn't have you I would have been dead many times over already. Please join me and I'll protect you, I'll be here for you as you have always been here for me though I failed to realize that. Let my light make you complete, and let your darkness complete me H'tsu. We are partners and you're my equal," _Ichigo said hugging his hollow close.

**"****I love ya King, you'll never die as long as ya light up my world fer me," **H'tsu said before cupping Ichigo's head as he leaned in to kiss his King.

_"Yeah,"_ Ichigo smiled at H'tsu as the clouds broke and sunlight shone upon them. Even inside his mind his mother's warm wind caressed his very being and for the first time Ichigo saw a genuine smile stretching across H'tsu's white lips.

**"I'll protect 'im fer yah Masaki, don' yah worry 'bout tha',"** H'tsu promised with a smile before Kissing Ichigo again. With a satisfied smile Ichigo left his inner world and opened his eyes to meet Grimmjow's swirling blue ones.

"Kurosaki!" Grimmjow said with surprise, startling Ichigo in the process making him jump back only to stumble and fall face first due to his injured body not holding up.

"Grimmjow, when did you get here?" Ichigo asked with a startled voice as he managed to drag himself up into a sitting position.

"A short while ago… I found ya dawdling up here bleeding like a squashed berry and I tried to wake ya from yer trance but ya wouldn't respond," Grimmjow explained. "Just what the hell happened to you, who hurt you?" Grimmjow asked concern just barely noticeable deep behind his voice.

"Aww, were you worried about me?" Ichigo teased and flinched when he got a fist right into his chest were the large wound from H'tsu's hand rested.

"Aww fuck Grimmjow!" Ichigo snarled trying to get up to punch back only to fall again as his feet crumbled beneath him. "Fuck," Ichigo cussed and finally took the time to watch over the damage done to his body.

"Oh for god's sake, why can't he hold back for once?" Ichigo snarled at no one, wincing as pain shot through his body with just a tiny bit of movement. Grimmjow was about to ask something but Ichigo cut him short.

"One moment, be right back," Ichigo said before he went completely still. After a few minutes of reprimanding his counterpart for trashing their shared body like that Ichigo returned to the outer world to find Grimmjow staring at him.

"What the fuck were you doin' Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked.

"Oh, I just flayed my hollow for trashing our body like this, should be fixed in a few seconds though," Ichigo explained. And right he was as black bled into his eyes and his body started healing.

"Instant regeneration?" Grimmjow said eyeing Ichigo with mild surprise.

"What? I am part hollow after all," Ichigo snickered before lifting up his hand. He gathered his spiritual pressure and directed it at his hand and was pleased to see a Zanpakuto forming there. "Good good, H'tsu's cooperating for once," Ichigo mused as he studied the curious blade.

**"Hey!"** H'tsu piped up in the back of his mind but Ichigo ignored him.

In his hand he held a completely white Zanpakuto with a black edge, it looked just like a regular Katana except for the blood splattered wrapping of bandages around its hilt and a clinking chain dangling from the end of it. The guard was similar to Tensa Zangetsu's, but it had vicious spikes protruding from the slightly less angled arms, which were decorated with slim red lines that danced in harmony with the shape of the guard. Ichigo was pleased to see the black and red reaitsu coat the white blade when he directed it into his sword and he hummed in appreciation at the beauty of the sword.

"Wha's that?" Grimmjow questioned.

"My resureccion," Ichigo answered like it was no big deal. "Oh yeah, to answer your question that's what I was doing. My hollow and I were beating the shit out of each other until we finally came to some sort of agreement, I can wield him now," Ichigo continued before turning around to face a path free of buildings.

He raised his arm much like Shinji did and called for his Hollow reishi. Grimmjow watched as a white and red ball of energy formed at Ichigo's fist, and he gawked when Ichigo fired a full scale cero into the desert, blasting away any unlucky hollow that was in the range of fire as well as lighting several of the dead trees on fire.

"Holy shit!" Grimmjow exclaimed and Ichigo laughed.

"It's a bit odd, using pure hollow reaitsu I mean," he said when Grimmjow looked at him weirdly. "But at least my reiatsu is back up at a hundred percent… I might take you up on that sparring request soon Grimmjow," Ichigo said and grinned at Grimmjow. "But don't expect me to go easy on ya when we do!" He added with a smug grin.

"Wouldn't want it any other way Kurosaki," Grimmjow growled before doing a mock punch at Ichigo, glad to see he actually dodged it. He had attacked the teen randomly every now and then to see if his strength was returning but the kid had always failed to dodge him until now.

"Well then, I'm hungry as hell… And for some reason I wanna sink my claws into something," Ichigo declared.

"Care to join me for a hunting trip then Kurosaki? Bet you can't catch a bigger Adjuchas than me!" Grimmjow cackled before jumping down from the tower they were at, landing perfectly in the sand only to speed off to wherever his nose led him.

"What the- Grimmjow matteo!" Ichigo called before running after the blue haired beast, relishing in the feeling of power once again surging through his body.

***break***

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

**-2 days later-**

Ichigo curled his lips in a satisfied grin as his tongue lapped up the final drops of green blood, the only remnants of the Adjuchas he had just battled and ended up devouring. Ichigo had nearly developed an unhealthy addiction for hunting hollows, simply because consuming their flesh gave him energy boosts and it felt incredibly good. He sighed in pleasure as the Adjuchas' reishi became part of his own and was added to his power and he grinned at no one.

He was all alone out in the desert, a good distance away from Las Noches. Aizen knew he had gone out hunting; he'd made it a habit to report his whereabouts to the Lord of Las Noches. Ichigo briefly considered tracking down another Adjuchas just for the fun of it, but he threw the idea away as he decided he should head back to the fortress. He sighed before activating his sonido so he wouldn't have to run through the heavy sand of the desert and began making his way in the direction of the walls of Las Noches.

Basically Ichigo had no idea how he was able to navigate through the continuing images of white sand dunes, but he figured it had something to do with him being more sensitive to reaitsu and the fact that he was getting marginally better at recognizing them. Somehow instinct just guided him in a direction and when he came close to his goal he would feel the reaitsu of the Espada residing within the fortress.

Ichigo continued sonidoing through the thick and reishi filled air until a bright light lit up the everlasting night which existed outside of Las Noches. Ichigo frowned as he was momentarily blinded and once he got his vision back he tried to search out the source of the light. Seconds after the bright white light dimmed down to a pulsing crimson one, making the white dunes seem like they were drenched in blood and Ichigo once again scanned the sky.

That's when he saw something appearing in the obsidian sky, it seemed like some kind of portal as its edges were blurry and uneven and didn't keep a set shape. Ichigo frowned moving in closer to investigate and was able to see the image of somewhere he did not know through the wavy surface of the gateway. What he saw was as a crimson sky and grounds covered in what looked like crops of white buns but he couldn't say for certain.

He was just about to activate the small transmission bracelet he wore on his wrist to connect with Aizen and inform him of the strange occurrence, but was shocked to find black chains suddenly shooting out from the portal and latching onto him. He snarled and clawed at the chains trying to rip them off of his body but it was no use. His eyes widened as the chains started to reel him in and he made yet another attempt at escaping the chains but with no luck.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to free himself in time he wrenched his body around and charged a small cero at his fingertip, drawing lines with his reaitsu to form a cross. When they realized he was gone back in Las Noches they would search, and hopefully find the clue he left behind and investigate.

Ichigo closed his eyes as he briefly met with the watery wall and was pulled through, and felt gravity grab at his body as he suddenly fell through open air. He quickly angled himself to lessen the impact and landed with a tiny bit of grace, the red soil beneath him crunching loudly under his weight. Ichigo frowned and looked around, he was standing in the middle of those weird crops, and was astonished to find that the bun looking things contained reishi within them.

He frowned and bent down to touch one of them, immediately retreating his hand as a wrenching cry resounded inside his mind. He moved to another one and did the same, hearing yet another cry yet this one was more angered than sorrowful. Ichigo frowned even deeper, this was so strange. It was like the buns contained the very soul of someone, he thought before standing up to look around.

Wherever he looked the crops continued in endless amounts and the only sign of civilization he saw was a sandy path in the middle of the crops. He sonidoed over to that trail and began walking along it. After what felt like endless hours of walking he arrived at the shore of a completely silent lake or ocean, he couldn't quite decide. He frowned yet again and knelt on the shore, grasping a handful of the yellow sand letting it seep through his fingers.

"Where the hell is this place?" he asked out loud and was shocked to feel the presence of someone seconds after he uttered the words.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, welcome to hell!" a voice laughed behind him and he turned around to see three figures in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo snarled his hackles up at the aggressive reiatsu spilling out of the tree.

"I am Gunjo, and this is here is Shuren and Taikon," one of the men said.

"And what do you want with me?" Ichigo demanded to know.

"We'd like you to help us with something very important," the man referred to as Shuren chuckled.

"And what if I refuse?" Ichigo asked.

"Then your little sister will become a resident in hell forever," the third man named Taikon cackled and Ichigo's eyes widened as something that seemed like a tv-screen appeared in front of him showing Yuzu chained up in a cage which rested over a pool of bubbling magma.

Ichigo could feel H'tsu getting angry inside him and fought to calm the hollow down, as he scratched at Ichigo's control, his claws pleading to tear through the three me in front of him so that they could find Yuzu.

"What do you want me to do?" Ichigo growled, scowling up at the men. He watched as Shuren stepped forth, making it clear he was the leader of the band and smiled evilly.

"We want you to destroy the gates of hell, so that we may finally be freed from this endless prison of torture," Shuren declared and he watched with an evil glint in his eyes as the orange haired visibly tensed and glared at him hatefully.

"I cannot do that," Ichigo refused.

"Then do you want your sister to be swallowed by the magma and revived as a citizen of hell?" Shuren laughed.

"I don't need to listen to your threats," Ichigo snarled, his brown eyes flashing gold as he lunged for Shuren forming H'tsu in his hand and relishing in the feeling of his reaitsu increasing considerably as their powers connected. Shuren's face split into a grin as he raised his own weapon to block Ichigo's, holding up and not faltering during the heavy weight of Ichigo's blow.

"You will free us, no matter if you want to or not!" Shuren cackled and Ichigo snarled.

"Like hell I will!" he growled before engaging Shuren in further combat, the sound of clashing blades echoing through the second level of hell as human and sinner clashed.

***break***

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

**-In Las Noches-**

"Has anyone heard or seen anything of Ichigo?" the tres Espada questioned as she entered the lounging room of the Espada eyeing the one's present with her teal eyes. Grimmjow, Yammy, Barragan and to her surprise Szayel and Starrk too were inside the shared lounging room and all of them looked at her with curious eyes.

"I haven' seen him since he left tah hunt earlier," Grimmjow answered and got affirmative nods from several of the other Espada in the room.

"He hasn't come back yet?" Starrk asked and eyed his subordinate calmly.

"No, and it has been about 3 hours since he left. Normally he would have been back within 2," Harribel said, concern brimming in her eyes.

"That's strange, what could be holding him up?" Grimmjow mused not really asking anyone but himself.

"I was wondering so myself. I went out and scouted the perimeters of Las Noches to see if I could get a trace of his reaitsu, but strangely enough I found none. His reaitsu is so strong that even if he controls the amount he lets out it can still be easily traced. I tried sniffing his trail out but I ended up with no result. It is worrying since he wouldn't disappear like that without telling Aizen-sama," Harribel explained.

"You found no trace of him at all?" Starrk asked, his voice barely touched with a faint amount of concern.

"No, the only ones I found were older ones from previous hunts. It's like he vanished into thin air," Harribel said.

"Keh, I hope he got killed or something. That brat is so annoying," Yammy said but quickly shut up when both Harribel and surprisingly Grimmjow and Starrk glared at him.

"I think you should tell Aizen-sama about this," Starrk said to Harribel.

"Hai, I believe that would be wise. Well then I'm off," Harribel announced as she quickly left the room, only seconds later appearing in front of the door which led to Aizen's office. She did her own little knocking tune and entered before she was given and answer and strode up to stand in front of Aizen's desk.

"Harribel, what brings you here?" Aizen asked, noticing that the blonde woman seemed to be worried for some reason.

"I have some disturbing news to tell you off Aizen-sama," Harribel said.

"Go on," Aizen pushed and Harribel swallowed.

"Ichigo has yet to return and I cannot find any trace of his reaitsu in the outer perimeters of Las Noches were he usually hunts, I believe something might have happened to him," Harribel explained. Aizen eyed her calmly before replying.

"That shouldn't be anything to worry about. If he decided to hunt for a bit longer then maybe he moved farther out into the desert? Ichigo can fend for himself, he is strong and I doubt anything could happen to him which he could not deal with on his own. He'll be back by night," he said, his logic not false in any way.

"Well, assuming something did happen to him then there should have been traces of a fight in the least. It worries me that he has not reported his extended trip through the transmitter he carries, something smells fishy and I don't like it," Harribel said looking out of Aizen's window to gaze at the setting sun of Aizen's artificial sky.

"You do have a point. Very well then, give an order for any Espada not busy with something to help you with a deeper search of Hueco Mundo. If you find any traces of his reaitsu at all, report it to me immediately through your wristbands, understood?" Aizen ordered.

"Hai Aizen-sama, I will see to it," Harribel said and took her leave.

"I hope Ichigo is alright," she mused out loud as she walked through the halls of Las Noches, heading for the lounge yet again.

* * *

**Sorry, this is not as long as the previous chapters. I've been feeling more tired recently and yesterday I nearly fainted when I was trimming the lawn. Have no idea why it happened, I just got dizzy and my vision got blurry and my legs felt like jelly so I had to find somewhere to sit down. Anyway, everyone whom has seen the 4****th**** Bleach Movie will know which characters I introduced here in this chapter. I am going to include The hell verse in this story, and it's going to serve a purpose. Hope you enjoyed the read although it is a boring chapter…**

**Please do leave a review!**


	6. Surpass yourself!

**Surpass yourself!**

Ichigo was in a real bind right now. He had defeated Gunjo and Taikon but Shuren was a tough nut to crack open. It had been less than a week since he and H'tsu came to an agreement and he still wasn't quite used to wielding his hollow. It was a completely different thing than wielding Zangetsu and now he had ended up in a bind. As the situation was right now, losing H'tsu's manifested form as a sword meant losing his powers for as long as that Zanpakuto was outside his reach and Shuren was now pinning him to the ground after having discarded H'tsu somewhere in the field of souls.

Ichigo snarled viciously, hating how utterly powerless he felt once H'tsu was without reaching distance. He could still hear faint slightly distressed calls from his hollow but he was gone from his inner world for the moment until Ichigo got hold of him again.

"So are you going to give up and help us or me now that you killed both of my companions? Not that it matters though, they'll be revived soon enough," Shuren chuckled.

Ichigo's chest vibrated as a low growl slipped through gritted teeth and his brown eyes tried to burn holes in Shuren's head. Shuren chuckled again before repeating his question.

"I've already told you, no!" Ichigo snarled and writhed underneath Shuren's weight, trying to guide his reishi into his palms to see if he could at least charge a bala or two.

But to his utter disappointment he had no such luck and he groaned when Shuren's fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head into the scentless dirt which he laid on. Ichigo made a grimace flexing his now aching jaw and fixed a glare on Shuren.

"I see," Shuren said when he realized the stubborn teen beneath him wouldn't comply.

He raised his weapon and prepared to impale Ichigo, the faint screams of H'tsu echoing in Ichigo's mind as that blade shot downwards for his heart. Ichigo glared at Shuren and prepared for the incoming blow, but just before it connected a white blur swept over them and dragged Shuren with it.

Ichigo immediately scrambled up to his feet and tried to locate H'tsu, using the echoing of his voice to guide him. While the white blur, now appearing to be a man fought of Shuren Ichigo was able to find H'tsu, the latter berating Ichigo for losing him in the first place.

"Damn it Kokouto!" Shuren hissed at the white clad man and tried to kick him off. Ichigo stared in awe at the two men, now knowing the white clad one to be Kokuto.

It seemed as if they were focused entirely on each other and to be honest he felt ridiculously left out as he stood there watching. The two men engaged in battle and Ichigo had to wonder where Kokuto had gotten that weird deformed black sword, and why were there cuffs with chains on his wrists? Ichigo had no idea and proceeded to watch their battle, but gasped involuntarily when that crooked weird blade sank into Shuren's chest as the man yowled loudly in pain. Kokuto grinned at him before yanking the sword out brutally and laughed when he left the man to bleed out on the ground.

"Sorry about that, not a very nice welcome party you were presented with I see," Kokuto said as he scurried up towards Ichigo. Ichigo eyed him warily and took a few cautious steps back whenever the man moved towards him. "What's the matter, I'm not here to harm you," Kokuto said with a smile. Ichigo snorted and raised H'tsu in front of him and at the ready.

"Why should I believe anything that comes out of anyone's mouth? This is hell after all," Ichigo declared matter of factly, as if he knew his way around hell and back.

"I can't argue with that logic, but really. I just saved your ass, that should be enough of a reason to believe me," Kokuto stated and Ichigo scowled at him.

"Thanks I guess," Ichigo muttered before relaxing his stance, figuring it was better to rub up to the locals.

Maybe he had a chance of getting back to Las Noches if he stayed with this guy. Ichigo kept an eye on the man as he led the way down the crunchy beach sand path and got a good look at his appearance. The man had a dark green scarf of some sort twirled around his head, covering his right eye while white hair popped out from it here and there. He wore a white yukata like garment which was worn out and torn at several places, and his sword was tucked underneath a sash around his waist. He had black fabric gloves which reached to just below his elbow and were fingerless, much like Ichigo's own and he was tall and lanky.

"So do you have any idea where those guys have their base? They've got my sister and I need to save her," Ichigo explained and didn't notice the slight quirk of Kokuto's lips before he turned around to answer Ichigo.

"I know where it is, it's in the third level of hell, I'll take you there," he announced and Ichigo smiled gratefully at him. Soon they were back at the ocean, but here there were weird plant like things floating in the water, and they had huge craters inside their core.

"We need to swim down through the water to get to the lowest level," Kokuto explained. "Don't hold your breath, just jump in and let yourself sink," Kokuto instructed before he jumped into the calm ocean, Ichigo following suit.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

**Hueco Mundo desert**

Szayel let his delicate fingers run across the white sand of the cold desert, his nose scrunching as he tried to pick up any trace of Ichigo's scent. At his side were Harribel, Starrk and even Barragan and they searched together with him. Just then a gentle wind swayed Szyael's pink hair and his golden eyes opened wide as his nose caught the vague scent of strawberries topped with a faint trace of musk. There was no doubt, nobody smelled like Ichigo.

"I found his scent!" Szayel shouted to those behind him before speeding off to where the scent led him. They ran for a good while until Szayel came to a halt suddenly, kicking up loads of sand into the air.

"Szyael what was that good for?" Harribel questioned but was quickly brushed off by the pink haired scientist.

Szyael's body hunched as he bent down and let his fingers drag through the sand, his own reiatsu reacting to the one tingling in his fingers. It was Ichigo's alright he declared to himself and began tracking it. While doing so he opened a tube with a glowing liquid and let it pour down onto the sand to color Ichigo's reaitsu trace. When he was done Szayel found that he stood in the middle of a glowing cross and he frowned deeply.

"This mark was made by Ichigo, his reaitsu is nowhere else but here in this mark," Szayel stated and put two fingers to his temple as his gears worked to figure out what had happened to the young hollow. "It just doesn't make sense, how could he have just disappeared like that. There are no traces of a Senkaimon or Garganta being opened, it's like he vanished into thin air," Szayel mused with an exasperated voice.

Szayel began trudging around the cross searching for anything that could tell him where Ichigo had gone and a low snarl began working its way up his throat. He frowned deeply at the cross once more before shooting up into the air. He had thought to see the mark from a higher point of view just in case he had missed something that was part of a bigger picture but he couldn't see anything else. He groaned dragging his fingers through his hair abruptly stopping the movement halfway through when he felt something. It was an unfamiliar kind of reishi, something he couldn't recognize instantly. The others below him caught his wonder like expression and Barragan was the one to ask this time.

"Szayel, what is it?" he asked with his baritone voice and eyed the pink haired man.

"There's an unfamiliar reishi trace up here, it isn't shinigami or hollow," he called back before pulling out a small device from one of his many invisible pockets.

He hit the button and eyed the device expectantly as it beeped with green lines running over the display as it worked through the reishi sample it had gathered from the air around its holder. When a green light turned on a small piece of paper scrolled out of an opening at the side of the device, and it was quickly snatched by Szayel.

"I can't believe it, the reishi is incredibly similar to the one found in hell. I think I know where Ichigo went," Szayel stated.

"Wait, Ichigo went to hell?" Harribel asked with shock.

"More or less, but it doesn't appear as if he went there willingly. There are traces of another person's reaitsu up here; it's not one of a hollow or shinigami but one belonging to a sinner of hell. How a sinner managed to force open a portal from hell to here is beyond my comprehension but we'll have to find out," Szayel admitted before landing besides Starrk.

"We have to get into hell somehow and save him before the air there poisons him and binds him in hell forever," Szayel stated before looking at Harribel. "We need to head back and inform Aizen-sama," Harribel declared.

"Tch, mendokuse na," Starrk said before heading after the others who had already taken off.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

**3****rd**** level of Hell**

Ichigo's feet hit the cold hard ground of the lowest pits of hell as he fell out of the water and down into a world covered in pits filled with boiling magma. He shuddered as he saw blurred figures crawling out of the boiling pits and morphed into sinners. He just realized how the sinners in hell lived, and he was grateful he wasn't ending up a permanent resident.

That was when he was attacked by Gunjou and Taikon yet again, and with much effort he defeated them once again. He growled when he realized he had lost sight of Kokuto and trailed after his reiatsu, ending up in a dome like area built up by intimidating spikes with a magma pit in the centre, and to his horror above the pool of magma his little sister was trapped in a freely hanging cage with its chain slowly disintegrating. Ichigo howled in fury and charged for the cage shouting his sister's name only to choke when a sword was jabbed through his stomach. He growled in pain and looked up at his assailant to see Kokuto's grinning face.

"You bastard!" Ichigo growled clasping his hand around the crooked sword with a fiery glare directed at Kokuto.

"You see Ichigo, I need you to free me so that I can have revenge on the man who killed my sister," Kokuto sneered and twisted the sword making Ichigo howl out in pain.

"You dirty coward, using my sister like this!" Ichigo spat and stubbornly took a few steps back with a pained expression as he yanked the blade out of his body with his movement.

Ichigo's eyes bled black as H'tsu surfaced and his voice echoed when he rushed in at Kokuto. They engaged in a raging battle of clashing swords and loud growling as Ichigo lashed out again and again for the sinner. Ichigo exploited an opening in Kokuto's defenses as the man by luck slipped and was centimeters away from beheading the man when he froze as pain shot through him.

He craned his neck backwards and found his eyes locked with Shuren's as his weapon pierced Ichigo's tortured torso. Ichigo yelped when he felt something curl around his feet and wrists and gave off a pained grunt as he was smashed face first into the ground, Shuren's sword still embedded in his torso. He looked around trying to find the reason for him being tied to the ground and his eyes widened as he saw rusted black chains protruding from the ground and directly into his body. He yanked at them but it caused him great pain and he glared up at Shuren and Kokuto.

"I should have known to trust anyone in this godforsaken place," Ichigo snarled at them.

Kokuto smirked evilly at him and gave Shuren a signal, which left Ichigo to howl in agony seconds after as Shuren began torturing him, beating him to a pulp and twisting the sword still embedded in his torn body. Ichigo couldn't break free of the hell chains, they had bound him already. Time in hell went much slower than that of the real world, Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, and someone whom were not residents of hell could not safely stay there for more than 30 hellish minutes without being caught by hells looked up as Kokuto neared him and Shuren's beating halted.

"I can free you of those chains, I know how much they hurt," Kokuto coaxed and bent down to Ichigo's current eyelevel. "You'll have to help me break out of here though if you want my help," Kokuto sneered and slapped Ichigo making his head snap to the left. Ichigo gave off a pained grunt before he spat into Kokuto's face.

"Never!" he growled and gave of yet another pained snarl as Shuren drove his foot down between Ichigo's shoulder blades.

Ichigo began to endure yet another round of beating and barely managed to notice how Kokuto had made his way over to the cage Yuzu was in. While Ichigo was occupied trying to regain his vision after yet another jaw breaking hit from Shuren, Yuzu awoke within her cage only to meet face to face with the tip of Kokuto's blade sliding in between the bars and the crazed grin of the man directed at her.

"Who are you!" She demanded with a shaky voice, trying to move farther into the cage to distance herself from the ominous man.

"I am Kokuto," he introduced himself "I am afraid I'll have to hurt your pretty little face," he said with a smirk and brought the tip of the blade down on Yuzu's face, making the young girl shriek in pain.

At the sound Ichigo's ears perked and he stopped struggling against Shuren's torture, his eyes widening and his irises shrinking. Another shriek sounded form Yuzu as her head was snapped to the right by a fist, and she suddenly caught notice of too familiar orange hair.

"Ichi-nii!" She cried at the top of her lungs with a shaky voice, reaching a pleading hand out through the bars at her brother.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo howled and tore at the restraints when he saw the injuries she had.

"Ichi-nii, help me!" Yuzu cried and in the moment Kokuto's blade descended upon her skin once more Ichigo was thrown into his inner world.

With an enraged roar H'tsu took over Ichigo's body, discarding their agreement so that he could beat the bastards into a pulp and save Masaki's offspring. A white mass began pooling out from the middle of Ichigo's chest as a hollow hole opened up, the flood of white engulfing Ichigo's body as a mask with red stripes and intimidating forward curved horns took shape on his head.

"Yes that's it! Use your monstrous power and destroy hell Ichigo!" Kokuto encouraged and just barely dodged the blood red cero fired in his direction seconds after.

The sound of breaking chains echoed as Ichigo rose from his spot with a heaven shaking roar, his voice echoing stronger than ever before as fury consumed him along with an incredible need to protect his sister. Furious black talons sliced Shuren in half and left him to bleed out on the ground as Ichigo's mindless body charged for Kokuto, his sheer power grinding his surroundings to dust just by his moving.

Ichigo's mind was totally black as H'tsu took control, Ichigo clawing helplessly at the cage as bars rose around him to prevent him from interfering. H'tsu's rage weighed heavily upon the teen and Ichigo struggled to remain standing within his own mindscape. He had to break free before H'tsu destroyed hell completely!

H'tsu's hollowed voice rippled through the air as he aimlessly shot cero after cero out effectively massacring the third level of hell in his wake, as Kokuto made work of dodging his furious barrage. Kokuto began chanting within his mind to summon the Hell Gate and when it finally began to materialize, he fetched the still crying girl from her cage to draw the raging hollow's attention.

"Now destroy the Hell Gate!" Kokuto bellowed at the top of his longs, clamping down on Yuzu's arm to make her scream. H'tsu's head snapped in their direction and he howled in fury. H'tsu began charging up a cero when something halted his movement making his body freeze.

"What's wrong Ichigo, release your fury, destroy the gate!" Kokuto snarled when he noticed the hollow beneath him had gone still.

**-*break*-**

"**King, don't interfere!"** H'tsu raged at Ichigo.

_"You will stop, if you continue like this you'll destroy hell and the real world in the process!" _Ichigo snarled as he finally broke free of his restraints tackling his hollow to the ground.

**"He's hurtin' yer lil' sis King. I promised yer mum tah protect yah, and tha' includes everyone yah love Aibou!"** H'tsu growled at Ichigo.

_"I know you want to protect them, but I can't allow you to continue!" _Ichigo snarled back.

**"Damnit King, I'll beat yah tah a pulp if I have tah, lemme at 'im!"** H'tsu snarled back and pushed up at Ichigo with great force to roll them over switching their positions. **"M in charge now, got it!" **H'tsu snarled into his Aibou's face. H'tsu choked on the air inside their shared mind however when Ichigo's reiatsu rose and he clamped his hands down on H'tsu's pale shoulders.

"_I am the King, you will obey me!"_ Ichigo snarled and cloaked his reiatsu around H'tsu's being to strangle the hollow's reaitsu.

**"Damnit King!"** H'tsu snarled loudly before he found himself in the same cage he had pushed his Aibou into.

_"I'm sorry H'tsu, just let me do this my way!" _Ichigo called to his hollow before slipping out of his mind, his hand already moving up to the horn protruding from his mask.

**-*break*-**

Ichigo roared as he forced his clawed hand up towards his mask with great effort. But H'tsu wouldn't have it; he broke free from the cage and once again battled his Aibou for control.

"Damnit H'tsu stop it!" Ichigo's voice echoed through the mask with rage.

**"Beat it Aibou, I'm killin' this guy!" **H'tsu shouted back and Ichigo began staggering back and forth as he battled his hollow. Lacking the power of Zangetsu Ichigo was slowly forced back against the bars of the cage once again and he felt himself slipping through.

"No!" he shouted as he felt himself being cut off again and H'tsu taking over yet again, immediately charging a cero. Kokuto grinned when he realized the mindless beast was once again back in control and made Yuzu scream again to further anger the creature.

From within his cage Ichigo screamed '_NO!_' as the cero finished charging, but just when H'tsu was about to release the cero Ichigo felt a heavy and crushing weight descending upon their shared body and it made him lose his breath, as everything went black for him. Kokuto watched with stunned eyes as one of the giant Kushanada appeared behind Ichigo and slammed its giant palm down upon the raging hollow.

"No!" he snarled as he realized the hollow would be eaten by the massive beast with the floating skull for a head.

But when the Kushanada didn't pick up Ichigo to eat him he sensed something was wrong. He watched in awe as the Kushanada slowly lifted his hand to reveal a great glowing light.

**-*break*-**

_Ichigo was wandering through a black void, trying to find his own mind when a blinding golden light lit up in front of him. Ichigo was engulfed in burning warmth as a silhouette appeared in front of him._

**"**_**You will punish the sinners, you will fix what you have destroyed, and you will free yourself and your sister with the power I shall bestow upon you. It is of upmost importance that Kokuto, Shuren, Gunjou and Taikon never make it out of hell. They are the greatest sinners of all here in my hell, should they run free the balance of the world will be disturbed. Kurosaki Ichigo, take and wield this power as a guardian of hell and save the balance of the world!"**_ _A thundering voice sang through Ichigo's ears, though Ichigo only managed to catch bits of the sentences. _

_He scowled when the silhouette approached him and was about to ask who the person was when a blurred hand came to rest on his chest. Seconds later immense pain wracked through his body as the light grew in strength and warm, and he felt as if his very core was on fire._

_ With a pained roar Ichigo opened his eyes to the real world and saw Kokuto's shadow in front of him._

**_-_*break*-**

Kokuto's eyes widened as the blinding light finally disappeared to reveal Ichigo once again standing before him. Golden plating grew from a skull above Ichigo's heart and spread out to cover half of his left torso as well as his chest, his shoulders sporting the same skull as above his heart, his left hip covered in golden bone like spikes, and his left arm completely covered in the golden plating. A spine like feature ran up the left of his neck and ended in a Kushanada shaped skull which covered Ichigo's left face. As the dust which had whirled up around Ichigo settled he moved forward a few steps.

"Can you see it Kokuto? Can you see how hell's powers cling to me?" Ichigo asked his voice cold and emotionless no longer echoing of H'tsu.

"No! Where did your hollow go, what did you do to him?!" Kokuto shouted and tried to slash at Ichigo only to be swapped off like an annoying bug.

"My hollow has been put back in his place, now it is time for you to return to your respectful place!" Ichigo declared and moved towards Kokuto. Kokuto grinned at Ichigo and began to laugh hysterically.

"It is too late; nothing you do can stop me! While you rampaged my chains were destroyed!" Kokuto laughed and jumped up into the air towards the summoned Hell Gate, ordering it to open for he was no longer a sinner. "If you try to stop me I will kill your sister!" Kokuto sneered and held up the now barely conscious Yuzu.

"I will save you Yuzu, just hang in there," Ichigo called softly in reply to the pleading look he got from Yuzu. She nodded with a small smile before finally fainting.

"You cannot save her!" Kokuto growled before turning to the now opening Hell Gates. The gates could no longer recognize Kokuto as a sinner of hell, as there were no chains attached to his body anymore.

"It's finally happening; I'm finally going to be free!" Kokuto cackled but his voice choked when he was suddenly dragged right out of the gate's opening. "What the!" Kokuto shrieked and looked down at his arm as searing pain shot through it.

His eyes widened in desperation when he saw a rust chain going straight through it. He then craned his neck to look back at Ichigo, brown cold and calm eyes staring at him as Ichigo raised his arm.

"No! I will not allow this to happen!" Kokuto snarled as more chains shot up from the ground and a large hole cracked the ground open as it was filled by boiling magma.

Ichigo felt no pity for the man as he impaled him with countless chains and dragged him down into the boiling pit to seal him inside his former prison yet again.

"You will suffer for all eternity, return to your prison of torture!" Ichigo snarled as Kokuto cursed him while he slowly sank down into the magma.

"Curse you Kurosaki Ichigo!" Kokuto snarled one final time before he was completely swallowed by the magma.

Ichigo quickly ran over to his little sister to check her injuries and found that they had healed, but crimson rusted chains still stuck to her body as he turned her over. Ichigo quickly undid the chains and picked her up and cradled her between his arms as he stood up and jumped up into the air. He gathered his power and roared loudly as he let his now hell tinted reiatsu wash over the world beneath him healing all the scars from his rampage and dragging Shuren, Gunjo and Taikon down into the deepest prisons of hell in the process as they burst out of the magma pits.

Then he gave the third level of hell one final look before shooting upwards and began making his way through the water, undoing his golden armor along the way. When he finally broke through to the second level of hell he drew a deep breath, the air here much easier to breathe relieving his lungs of some strain.

"Ichigo!" Someone called and said teen whipped around with Yuzu in his arms to come face to face with an obviously worried Harribel and a curious Szayel. Behind them were Barragan, Starrk, Grimmjow and even Ulquiorra.

"You guys, why are you here?" Ichigo questioned his voice a bit shaky as exhaustion washed over him.

"Aizen ordered us to find you and help you out of this shithole," Grimmjow said with his usual cocky voice and walked up to Ichigo giving him a solid punch. Ichigo gave a half assed punch in return, not able to muster any strength to pay him back full force at the moment.

"How did you know I was here?" Ichigo questioned looking at Szayel not doubting the scientist played a part in that story.

"When you didn't come back from your hunting trip Harribel voiced her worry to Aizen-sama and we put together a search party. I found your reaitsu cross and began scanning the area for anything unusual. We were about to give up when I caught an unfamiliar reaitsu trace which I ran through one of my devices, which told me it was hell reiatsu. I immediately invented a way to force open a gate to hell, and here we are," Szayel said no doubt proud of his achievement.

"So you actually found the cross? I placed that on a last thought just in case I wouldn't be able to handle myself wherever I was taken to," Ichigo admitted and dragged a few fingers through his hair with a sheepish grin.

"How the heck did you end up here anyways?" Grimmjow asked.

"It's a long story, but I'll tell you," Ichigo began.

"I was on my way back from hunting when I decided I'd kill just one final Adjuchas, and when I had finished it and moved to go back to Las Noches I felt a weird reiatsu. I looked up into the sky and saw the air rippling and displaying a picture. I moved up to investigate it when these crimson chains shot out of it and impaled my arms and legs. That's when I saw my little sister caged in that image and I decided to not fight. I left the cross on the spur of the moment," Ichigo said.

"Turns out this crazy sinner from hell had seen my fight against Ulquiorra and decided to kidnap my sister so that he could force me into destroying hell and the Hell Gates so that he would be freed," Ichigo continued.

"I had some trouble since no matter how many times I killed him or his henchmen they always resurrected and came at me again. When he began hurting my sister my hollow became enraged, in fact I have never felt or seen him so angry and I couldn't fight him back. He was really close to destroying hell and in fact freed the sinner from his chains. Before he could destroy the gates though, one of the hell guardians stepped in and forced H'tsu back so that I could take over. I managed to defeat him and sent him back into the deepest pits of hell. So I saved Yuzu and now here I am," Ichigo ended drawing a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh.

"How come you and your sister don't have any hell chains? Considering the amount of time you spent in hell you should have been bound long ago," Szayel stated.

"Oh that. I forgot to tell you, hell lent me powers so that I could trap Kokuto and his gang for good. H'tsu broke my chains when he went on a rampage, and the hell powers I borrowed let me remove Yuzu's chains," Ichigo explained.

"I see," Szayel said.

"Well then, may I suggest we leave? I need to go back so that I can finish my work for Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra's ever so emotionless voice spoke as he eyed everyone in the group coldly.

"Hai, I believe it would be wise to head back," Harribel said.

"I don't want to sound stupid or anything," Starrk broke in. "But how do we get out of here?" he ended.

"If you could open a portal here, can't you open a portal back to Hueco Mundo?" Barragan asked Szayel.

"I am afraid not, I had not the time to develop a reverse portal for use to use," Szayel admitted.

"Great, now were stuck in this shithole. It's difficult as hell to breathe in here!" Grimmjow complained.

"Don't worry Grimmjow, we'll get back to Las Noches," Ichigo said.

"How?" Harribel questioned.

"I still have some power left, I'll open a portal," Ichigo said as he rose up into the air and dragged his finger down through the reishi filled air. A light emerged from where his finger had trailed and slowly a portal opened.

"Well then, shall we go?" Ichigo said with a small smile, shifting Yuzu so that she could rest her head on Ichigo's shoulder.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo entered the outdoor training space of Las Noches, his coat and vest gone as he prepared for something great. He had just come back from the human world after having taken Yuzu back to their dad. Now Karin and Yuzu knew that he had not passed on but kept living as a soul and they were glad they could still see their brother if they wanted to.

Ichigo had been worried about Shinigami coming to apprehend him, but Kisuke and Yoruichi had helped him by stalling their operations. He sat down and crossed his legs, closing his eyes to materialize H'tsu in his hands.

**"King?" **H'tsu said as he felt his power being called upon. There was something peculiar about how Ichigo had called him. **"What is it Aibou?"** H'tsu asked as he met with Ichigo in their inner world. He found himself pinned by Ichigo's stern gaze as Ichigo moved in close so that they could stand face to face.

_"I want us to go beyond our current level," _Ichigo declared and smirked at H'tsu's short state of shock.

**"You wanna remove our mask?"** H'tsu asked dumbfounded. _"_

_Yes, the question is do you?"_ Ichigo asked.

**"I thought ya'd never ask!"** H'tsu damn near chirped as his shocked expression grew into a grin rivaling that of Kenpachi and Grimmjow.

_"I am glad you agree," _Ichigo said with a small grin and reached his hand out. H'tsu grinned back at him and took the offered hand as Ichigo called upon his power.

Meanwhile Grimmjow felt a sudden rise in Ichigo's reiatsu and he grinned, he was already heading to the training area hoping to coax Ichigo into a sparring match. With the way he was throwing his reiatsu around Grimmjow doubted he would be turned down. The sight that met him however was not what he had anticipated. A very calm and distant looking Ichigo stood in the middle of the training grounds as he gathered his reiatsu. G

rimmjow watched as that white Zanpakuto materialized in Ichigo's hands and he was pushed a few steps back at the sheer force of the roar which Ichigo let out as he thrust the sword deep into the ground cracking it open all across the arena. Ichigo let out another strong and drawn out roar before he slit his palm on the blade and smeared the crimson liquid out along the blade.

In a calm and low voice Ichigo said "Hacen temblar," before taking a short break before his reiatsu rose to the level he had been at when fighting Ulquiorra as he shouted "Lagarto Loco!"

Ichigo's reiatsu burst out from his body forcing Grimmjow a few more steps behind, as he struggled to see through the thick cloud of dust which had been whirled up. He squinted as he tried to make out Ichigo within the cloud. Suddenly the air stilled and the dust blew away as quickly as it had whirled up and Ichigo's reiatsu retreated into his body. Grimmjow gaped at the sight in front of him.

Ichigo now sported a hollow hole in his chest, black marks decorating his chest with their origin in that hole. Talons covered his fingers and toes, and tufts of red crowned his wrists and ankles. His hair had grown into a long beautiful sea of burning orange, and his skin was stark white. His face was covered by a full mask with deadly looking teeth and slim openings for golden eyes to peer out from. From its sides horns curved out into a bow before turning straight forward resembling the horns of a bull ever so slightly. Ichigo didn't say anything; he just flexed his fingers and arms, and twisted his torso before taking a deep breath.

**"You ready H'tsu?" **his voice echoed and his golden eyes lit up when H'tsu voiced his yes from inside their shared mind.

Grimmjow watched with widening eyes as Ichigo moved his hand up to hook his fingers beneath the edge of his mask, and his eyes glued onto Ichigo's figure as he struggled to stand up in the heavy reiatsu which once again washed over the arena.

Ichigo howled out in pain and determination as he moved his hand to force the mask off. He roared louder and louder as he gathered all he could of his strength, and with a final wall shaking roar of pain he finally managed to remove his mask. A huge explosion destroyed the training ground as Ichigo's reiatsu went out of control for a brief moment before it turned into a pillar like shape which shot up into the sky ending up like a cross at the very end, before it all shot down into Ichigo's body making the teen howl in pain.

Ichigo fell to his knees engulfed in black reiatsu before it disappeared and he was left to tremble on his hands. Across the now trashed arena Grimmjow scrambled to his feet and quickly made his way over to the heavily panting Ichigo.

"Holy shit Kurosaki, what the hell were ya thinkin? Ya trashed the entire arena," Grimmjow said reaching down to slip and arm under Ichigo's to help him stand up.

"Grimmjow, when did you get here?" Ichigo asked with surprise when he recognized the one whom was helping him stand up.

"Since you thrust that weird Zanpakuto into the ground," Grimmjow said. "What the hell were you doing anyway?" Grimmjow asked.

That's when he saw it. Ichigo's eyes were still golden with black sclera, yet his mask was not there. Ichigo turned his head to look at the blue haired devil and that's when Grimmjow noticed the tiny mask fragment which ran in an elegant curve beneath Ichigo's left eye and down along the ridge of his nose. The piece of bone was red with white edges, and beneath his three more red stripes were marked into Ichigo's skin.

"Well damn, ya turned yourself into a natural Arrancar didn't you?" Grimmjow more stated than questioned.

"Yep, figured it was time I honed my hollow powers properly. Me and my hollow decided it was time to take our combined power to the next level," Ichigo said and smiled at Grimmjow, before his vision began blurring. Grimmjow noticed how Ichigo seemed to be drifting off and shook Ichigo slightly.

"Oi Kurosaki! Hey!" Grimmjow snapped at him but Ichigo didn't respond.

"So tired," he wheezed before passing out, the entire weight of his body crashing down on Grimmjow's shoulders.

Now that he was an Arrancar Ichigo had bulked up a little, he had gotten taller too. It was easy for Grimmjow to notice. Grimmjow grinned at the teen, now he'd have a really good sparring partner and he sure as hell looked forward to test himself against Ichigo's strength. Though Ichigo had already defeated him once Grimmjow still looked forward to pay him back if possible. He laughed loudly at the thought before beginning to haul Ichigo's sorry ass in the direction of the living quarters, but in the same second he entered the castle he was met by Aizen, Gin, Tosen and all the other Espada.

"Grimmjow, what happened to Ichigo? Why was his reiatsu going crazy like that?" Aizen asked placing his deadly cold eyes on Grimmjow making the now Quinto Espada tremble ever so slightly.

"That's because Ichigo just made himself an Arrancar," Grimmjow said with a grin gesturing towards the mask fragment and red lines under Ichigo's eyes.

Everyone were clearly surprised, even the loyal and emotionless dog Ulquiorra whom had followed his master to find out what was going on showed just the tiniest hint of surprise as he eyed the teen.

"Said he was tired, then he passed out on me. I'm taking him to his room," Grimmjow said.

"Well this is a surprise," Aizen said.

"Szayel, go with them and stay with Ichigo. Make sure he is ok when he wakes up," Aizen ordered and the pink haired scientist looked all too thrilled at the chance to examine the hybrids changes.

* * *

**Glossary?**

**Ichigo's resureccion - Hacen temblar, Lagarto Loco = Make them tremble, crazy lizard XD (you've got to admit, H'tsu is pretty crazy lol)**

**Mendokuse na = Shikamaru and Starrk's favorite phrase meaning what a drag, or such a pain in the ass, or do I really have to do this etc.**

"**Phew, this was such a pain to write!" Anyways, sorry for taking a while to update this XD I made the Hell Verse short because I don't want it to take that much attention from the story. Those of you who have watched the movie will know that I have made my own twist to the whole thing lol… Anyways, Ichigo is officially an Arrancar! How do you like that?! XD Hope you enjoyed the read ;)**

**Please review!**


	7. The new Zero and Decimo Espada!

**The new Zero and Decimo Espada!**

"Buchikirero, Ira!" the gruff voice of Yammy shouted as his anger hit new heights and he released his resureccion to finally kill that prick of a teen Kurosaki Ichigo.

Ichigo watched with deadly and calm eyes as the huge mix of a Gorilla and a Centipede like hollow towered high above him, the number of 10 turning into 0 as Yammy's rage was unleashed.

"You scared yet brat? You better be because you're facing death's fist!" the enormous thing bellowed and Ichigo cocked an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Hardly," he taunted and dodged an incredibly slow blow which the zero Espada tried to hit him with.

Though he was a newborn Arrancar, only 2 days old at that Ichigo already had full control of his powers. You could call him a prodigy, considering the fact that he should have had some trouble adjusting to his new body and instincts. However it seemed like Ichigo had given that fact the middle finger and entered his role as an Arrancar with ease.

Ichigo raised Lagarto Loco as he jumped into the air to avoid yet another fist and did an experimental slash at the giant arm which had no hopes of evading his slicing blade. His blade was repelled by a tough Hierro and sparks flew as Ichigo dragged the blade down the arm with a calculative look in his eyes. He did a backflip and landed on the desert sand with grace and took on a ready stance processing the information his body had received from that feeling strike.

"Hah, you'll never cut me! Even though I hate to admit it there has only been one person with a Hierro stronger than mine, but he's dead anyway. Weak ass fucker got killed by a Shinigami!" Yammy bellowed and Ichigo fixed his eyes which were stricken by a slight piece of amusement on the beast towering in front of him.

"What a coincidence, I happened to witness that battle. His Hierro wasn't that tough; Kenpachi broke it after a little while. If yours is weaker than Nnoitra's then I'm afraid your blood will spill soon," Ichigo taunted in a matter of factly way, smirking with a mischievous glint in his eyes when Yammy roared in anger and lashed out for the ever so swift Ichigo.

Ichigo's lean and agile body was already adapted to the Sonido, but Ichigo had no need for the technique as he could easily dodge the blows aimed at him with his physical speed alone.

"Damn it, stand still you little flea!" Yammy roared and Ichigo simply took a step to the side when another fist rammed down into the sand beside him; the shockwave it produced didn't even budge him at all as his long hair danced with the waves of power.

"Ya know, if you don't improve your speed, those attacks of yours will never reach me," Ichigo taunted. Another fist came flying after him and was just as easily dodged. "Seriously, I don't even need to use Sonido, what are you a snail?" Ichigo's lilting voice taunted, his voice once again taking on that echoing otherworldly trait of his.

Ichigo smirked again and evaded the hail of bala which rained upon him after the last taunt, before he jumped into the air and gave another attempt at slashing the beast's skin, feeling his blade sinking just a tad bit into the Hierro telling him he was on the right track with adjusting the strength he put behind his blows.

"When I finally strike you, you will be dead in an instant!" Yammy growled before stamping his feet making a cloud of dust whirl up around them hindering Ichigo's sight.

Ichigo was not startled or frozen, no panic raced through his body as he kept hovering in the same spot as before. He closed his eyes and heightened his senses. Ichigo was much closer to nature now than any Shinigami could ever hope to be, and his physical senses were incredibly strong and the tiniest shift in the path of the dust around him told him where Yammy attacked from. Ichigo reached his hand forward and let his fist meet with Yammy's, stopping the attack after skidding through the reishi filled air a good 50 meters or so.

"Has anyone ever told you size doesn't matter?" Ichigo taunted yet again and raised his still free sword arm to slash at his knuckles, successfully breaking the Hierro this time and leaving Yammy with pretty deep cuts on his knuckles. Ichigo watched in amusement as the beast howled in pain and raised the arm to his face to lick at the wounds.

"Konoyaro! That fucking hurt!" Yammy shrieked and a red glow encased his figure as veins began popping all over his body. Ichigo was actually mildly surprised at the next course of events, as Yammy's body became even larger and his movements slowed even more.

"You know, the bigger you grow the slower you become," Ichigo stated and ducked under the lashing tail which sought to behead him.

"Urusai!" Yammy roared and went for Ichigo yet again, the newborn raising his fist to meet with Yammy's yet again, but this time Ichigo was actually thrown back by the sheer force of the blow and was hurled into a wall. "Aint so tough now are ya!" Yammy laughed when Ichigo stumbled out of the hole he'd made with his own body.

"Tch," Ichigo said and jumped down onto the sand. "Looks like you'll be able to see my Resureccion after all," Ichigo growled and wiped away the blood that clouded his eye. Ichigo knelt and thrust his sword into the ground before whispering "Hacen Temblar," before continuing to shout "Lagarto Loco!" which led to the fist flying in from Yammy being stopped by the sheer force of Reiatsu which burst from the newborn Arrancar.

Yammy let his eyes fall upon the lizard like creature that appeared in front of him. Ichigo had gained a lot of height and he had bulked up even more, a long slim tail protruding from his back and spikes erupting from his shoulders. A fluffy mane of red adorned his collar and his wrists along with his ankles and fiery red markings covered his body. His hair flew freely in a controlled disorder down his back, and huge claws adorned his toes and fingers.

What appeared before Yammy was not the full release of Ichigo, no it was his Adjuchas form which he had taken only once before when H'tsu forced a takeover on his body. This time however the mask was not cracked, and he was not as bulky and he looked far more cut and nicely built. His tail swished about in wavy motions as Ichigo awaited Yammy's response.

"Hah, what a weak Resureccion!" Yammy bellowed before he fired a cero at Ichigo.

Ichigo chuckled and raised the tip of his tail, a completely white cero with red outlines forming at it and he released it to counter Yammy's. When the dust settled an enraged cry came from the Zero Espada and Ichigo's eyes lit up dangerously when Yammy grew even bigger, his burns and cuts closing up as a side effect.

On the sidelines the ever so quiet Ulquiorra found that he actually wondered what his former enemy intended to do now. Ichigo was aware of the jade eyed Arrancar's presence, as he himself had asked the Cuatro Espada to overview their legal battle. Yammy had followed procedure and challenged Ichigo to a match in front of the other Espada and Ichigo had heeded advice and taken the battle far away from Las Noches and into the had been explained how Ulquiorra was still alive and he had a rough time accepting it, but since it was Aizen's doing anything would pass in Ichigo's book.

Emotionless eyes watched as Ichigo took the full blunt of a Cero Oscuras dead on, sending him flying a good 400 meters before he finally stopped. Ichigo grunted and got to his feet before utilizing his Sonido to get back to the battle arena. He was panting slightly as he still refused to regenerate his marred flesh and his now lost left arm. He moved his attention from Yammy and onto Ulquiorra for a second and addressed the pale man on the outskirts of the field.

"Ulquiorra, listen up!" Ichigo called, knowing the Arrancar heard him over the distance even if he didn't shout. The only confirmation of his call having reached was the piercing feeling of green eyes staring at him.

"As I have promised to keep your true power a secret, you'll have to do the same in return. I don't want anyone to know about what I am about to show you and Yammy," Ichigo explained and he smirked at Ulquiorra when he saw a faint nod from the figure in the distance.

"Arigato," he said and turned his gaze towards the beast. "Sorry Yammy, but your're going down," Ichigo said as his Reiatsu rose up into unimaginable strengths as he prepared to release his true form.

"What fancy thing are ya gonna do now?" Yammy questioned but did not get an answer.

"Lagarto Loco, Liberacion Total," Ichigo said taking Ulquiorra by complete surprise and Ichigo didn't fail to notice the brief display of shock which played across the emotionless Espada's face.

**-*time*-**

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo sheathed his Lagarto Loco as the final bits of his Resurrecion faded away and his mask fragment reappeared on his face as he returned to his normal Arrancar self.

"To think you would be able to develop a second release," Ulquiorra stated and eyed the teen in front of him with growing respect.

As much as he found he had hated the teen before, now that he was one of them Ichigo was working his way under Ulquiorra's skin even if they had only met again just a couple of days ago.

"Actually that wasn't a Segunda Etapa," Ichigo said as he hurled Yammy's scorched and barely breathing body across his shoulders.

"Explain," Ulquiorra ordered sternly.

"What you saw was my true release, the one I used when I thought I killed you," Ichigo began.

"The first form you saw was merely my Adjuchas form, I seem to have developed the unique ability to access my powers on three different levels. The first being this form, the second being the Adjuchas form and the third being that of the Vasto Lorde which is my true form," Ichigo finished and he saw the gears in Ulquiorra's mind working as the jade eyed Espada processed the information. Ichigo winced just slightly when he felt something akin to his skin being burned, but as it stopped quickly he paid it no mind as Ulquiorra gestured for them to leave.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo followed the mute Espada through the same hallways he had gone through when he was heading for Aizen's quarters but this time they took a right just before they ended up in the very hallway with only one single door which led to Aizen's den. Ichigo frowned before he realized they were heading for Aizen's office.

He gave off a grunt and tugged at the body hunched over his shoulders to make it lay better so that he could carry it more easily. Yammy was still breathing, but just barely alive. He kept muttering _unforgiveable_ over and over again and it was beginning to get on Ichigo's nerves. The guy just couldn't accept defeat when it was handed straight to him.

Besides he was bleeding all over Ichigo, and he was out of new uniforms to use as well. The one he was wearing was the last one he had that wasn't already torn up and bloodied. He let out a frustrated sigh doing a meek attempt at rolling his sore shoulders, but Yammy weighed a ton, seriously what did the man eat to become so heavy?

It seemed like it took an eternity and more before they reached the door, and even though Ichigo had received little damage and was barely scratched he was still not a hundred percent in synch with his new body, meaning he wasted more reaitsu than he needed when he fought. He would have to fix that later, now it was important to hear what Aizen would do with his dying Zero Espada.

Ichigo swallowed nervously when they reached Aizen's intimidating office door, and he flinched when Ulquiorra gave one heavy knock followed by 3 short ones. He briefly wondered if he would get his own knocking code as well, before he shuffled into the office after Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra flicked a finger at him and Ichigo dumped Yammy onto the floor in front of Aizen's desk with a relieved sigh. Ichigo stared venomously at the dying man kicking a bit of imaginable dust at the beast before looking up to meet Aizen's eyes.

"What is the meaning of this Ulquiorra?" Aizen asked when he saw the barely alive Zero Espada displayed to him in such a pitiful way.

"My lord, allow me to explain. Yammy Llargo followed proper procedure and challenged Kurosaki Ichigo in the presence of all 9 Espada. Due to their level of ability I advised Ichigo to take the battle outside of Las Noches so that they would not risk harming our home in any way. As you can see Ichigo has defeated Yammy Llargo and his fate now lies in your hands Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra explained with his ever so emotionless posture and voice as he eyed his master. Just then Gin came in from a side room to Aizen's office and took a quick overview of the scene.

"Arah? Seems like we need a new Espada Aizen-sama," Gin said in his usual sly tone and eyed Yammy's body, stepping out from behind Aizen's desk to kick at his battered body in distaste. "Never really liked him anyway," he grunted and looked at Ichigo.

"I take it yer tha one tha' silenced 'im," Gin stated and looked at Ichigo, his eyes opening just enough for Ichigo to see his piercing ice blue eyes.

"Hai, I won the battle in which he challenged me to," Ichigo stated and smirked just slightly at Gin.

"Hai, it would seem a promotion of someone is in order Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra declared and waited for Aizen to make his choice.

"Hardly, I think it is time we brought a new face into our ranks. One that has definitely proven his strength and is more than mature enough to hold such a rank," Aizen said in his velvety voice before eyeing Ichigo briefly. "Ichigo, would you please show us your back?" Aizen asked with an expectant glint in his eyes. Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at him before shrugging and pushing the top of his Shihakusho down turning around so that his back faced them.

"Oooooh," Gin exclaimed and eyed Ichigo's back intently.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked but as he didn't get any answer he craned his neck just enough so that he could just barely see the area between his shoulder blades.

Just above where his hollow hole was situated a gothic Zero was barely visible to his eyes, and the latter widened in realization and Ichigo turned around to meet Aizen's gaze.

"Welcome to the family, Zero and Decimo Espada Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen said with a warm look in his eyes before directing his gaze at Ulquiorra. "Ulquiorra, take Yammy down to Szayel's lab and tell him he can do whatever he wants to with him," Aizen ordered and Ulquiorra quickly hauled Yammy's body up on his shoulders with a nod before sonidoing out of the room.

"Well now, congratz on yer new position as top dog Ichigo," Gin said with a happy cling to his voice throwing his arm across Ichigo's shoulders in a friendly manner. Ichigo used a few more minutes to get over the initial shock before he let out a low laughter as a thought crossed his mind.

"Holy shit Grimmjow's gonna fly of the bat when he finds out," Ichigo said with a grin before he bowed to Aizen with a serious look in his golden orbs.

"I will do my best to serve your needs Aizen-sama, I am prepared to lay down my life for your purpose and I hereby pledge loyalty to your cause," Ichigo formally declared before smirking at Aizen."But I won't do any of that until I have my uniform refitted, the ones I already have are already torn and bloody, besides they are a bit small now," Ichigo stated and crossed his arms over his let out a warm chuckle before smiling at Ichigo with knowing eyes. He then turned to Gin and he need not say anything.

"Ichigo if ya would come with me, I'd like tah measure ya again so that I can tailor new clothes fer ya," Gin said his smirk growing even wider and Ichigo grinned at him before following the snake to his quarters.

With Ichigo's transformation into an Arrancar he had gained height and weight. He had slightly broader shoulders and a thicker neck, and his muscles were more defined. His arms and legs had bulked up quite a bit, and he was now nearly as tall as Grimmjow. Ichigo was on par with Gin and was roughly 1, 85 meters in height, and he weighed about 75 kilos with his slightly heavier build. Ichigo followed Gin until they reached a pretty big door with a pastel Turquoise colored frame, and he realized they were in front of Gin's room.

"Now then, shall we step inside and begin?" Gin asked and opened the door for Ichigo to enter.

**-*time*-**

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo watched in surprise when a hand came up to distract him, and when he looked back down at the snake hunching in front of him he was met with a mischievous grin and he realized his hakama were gone. He blushed ever so slightly when he realized he was standing in his fundoshi only, his body on display for Gin's still closed eyes.

"Ehrhm Gin, what exactly are you doing?" Ichigo asked hesitantly still unable to figure out why he needed to be half naked for Gin to take his measurements.

"I'm preparing yah fer my measuring, clothes are only in tha way," Gin snickered and opened his eyes briefly, his icy depths swirling with mirth as he sneaked his hand behind Ichigo's back to grab the other end of his tape measure and secured it around Ichigo's waist.

All the time his fingers which were behind Ichigo's back kept 'innocently' ghosting across Ichigo's skin making the teen shiver just a tiny bit. Ichigo gulped wondering what the hell the snake was trying to do, and he yelped when Gin suddenly dragged the tape measure away from his body 'unintentionally' smacking his hip with it like a whip.

"Gin what the hell?!" Ichigo snarled and eyed the snake dangerously.

"Mmm, sorry 'bout that, was an accident," Gin excused himself his face displaying an 'I'm innocent' look.

Ichigo snorted and held out his arms when Gin told him to, and hissed when the cold measure band landed upon his warm skin as Gin measured his chest. Gin moved onto his arms and leaned in close, his warm breath ghosting Ichigo's skin as he did the measurement making the teen involuntarily shiver.

"Could yah spread yer legs a bit, I need to measure yer thighs," Gin commanded and Ichigo hesitated slightly but complied in the end. When Gin's hand 'accidently' swept just under the hem of his fundoshi Ichigo snapped with a loud snarl and grabbed Gin by the collar dragging him up to eye level.

"Ok Gin, are you going to take my measures or are you going to molest me? Make up your mind!" Ichigo growled and his golden eyes lit up dangerously.

If Gin wanted to play games with him fine, he could play as well, Ichigo thought before smirking at Gin when he didn't reply opting to keep smirking with his eyes completely open this time.

With his ascension to Arrancar Ichigo had grown a bit bolder, and with his instincts closer to the surface than ever before he hadn't failed to notice how much he adored and maybe wanted the bodies and strength of several of the Espada. Though he might have only bedded anyone once, instinct flowed thickly through his veins and told him what to do.

"If you wanted to play Gin, you could have just asked," Ichigo said his voice dropping into a low baritone with a slight husky touch to it as he leaned in to kiss the snake.

He wasn't afraid to admit it, though creepy as hell Gin still had a marvelous body and he was sexy as hell, Ichigo found that he really liked Gin's eyes and the mischievous glint which was always present somewhere in those depths along with seriousness, maturity and danger, that alone was enough for him to want to have a go with the elder man.

Ichigo moaned lowly when Gin danced a sensual waltz with him inside their mouths, and he purred when Gin's hands fell possessively on his hips and kneaded them in a sensual way. Ichigo snaked his hands up and shoved the top of Gin's uniform down so that he could admire his lean but still built form and let his fingers ghost past his nipples which made Gin's head tip up just a tiny bit into their kiss.

Ichigo smirked on the inside and gasped in surprise when Gin's sneaky hands found their way to his awakening crotch and clamped down suggestively. Ichigo snarled into their kiss and upped the pace of their waltz, this time making Gin end up as the one moaning deep in his throat.

Ichigo already knew that despite his obvious dominance in strength, he still fell more towards the submissive side when it came to mating and truly it did not bother him. If what Aizen did to him would be a repeating case with other dominant partners then he sure as hell would not complain.

A few more arousing tongue battles and testing touches later Ichigo had decided he would let Gin dominate the coupling. By now both of them had a good erection going and their faces were flushed, while their chests heaved as they panted ever so slightly. When Gin moved in for another kiss Ichigo purred and looked at Gin with wanton eyes, before tilting his head to the side exposing his throat.

Gin was struck with a moment of surprise when Ichigo so easily offered him the dominant spot, and he let out a snarl of excitement as he leaned in to softly nibble and lick at Ichigo's jugular making pleasant shivers run down Ichigo's spine at the thrill of having Gin's deadly teeth so close to his throbbing vein. Ichigo moaned louder when the arousing caress continued before he pushed at Gin's chest in determination, brushing off the slightly angered snarl to look at Gin with needing eyes. By now Ichigo wanted it badly and like always his eyes spoke clearly for him, but he voiced his needs anyway.

"Fuck me…Gin," Ichigo said in a husky and sultry voice stepping backwards till he tipped over the edge of Gin's bed, dragging the silvette with him so that he landed atop of Ichigo's chest.

"Feisty and bold, I like tha'," Gin purred before he rid himself of his own Hakama, and then undid Ichigo's fundoshi moaning wantonly at the sight Ichigo presented him with.

Ichigo was well endowed, he had to admit that. When he took in the full image of Ichigo's body everything about him was perfect. His skin was scarred yet soft and smooth, his scent was intoxicating and his body was perfectly carved, his muscles not too built but not too small either, just perfect in every imaginable face with that perfectly angled jaw and sharp chin, the slim nose and those large beautiful golden eyes which rested atop of black sclera. Not to mention his beautiful mane of fire, Ichigo's fiery orange hair which was as untamable as Ichigo himself.

And then there was his personality which was just beautiful. Rash and cocky, but at the same time wise, mature and caring topped with the strength to protect whatever he wanted to. Gin knew he was falling for the orangette, and even though the feelings might not be returned it didn't matter. As long as he could embrace that warmth he would be happy. He didn't realize how long he had stared at Ichigo until the teen gave off an impatient snarl.

"Are you just going to sit and stare, or are you actually going to do something about this?" Ichigo said and pointed at his now straining member.

"Oh sorry, I was jus' so lost in yer beauty," Gin purred his voice as sultry as Ichigo's had been as he bent down and took Ichigo into his mouth.

Ichigo moaned deeply and curled his fingers into Gin's soft hair and let his hand follow the snake's movements. Ichigo's body twitched furiously as Gin used a sinful tongue to curl around his shaft while he bobbed up and down, his hand pumping what he couldn't cover with his mouth and Ichigo was far into heaven. Ichigo let out small sexy whimpers and mews, and moaned loudly whenever Gin did something which really pleased him.

Gin's free hand teased Ichigo's nipples until they were red and perked before they asked for entrance to Ichigo's mouth which opened to coat them in saliva. Not long after Ichigo was caught in a heated kiss while a lean digit made its way past his entrance and began thrusting into his warm cavern, searching for his sweet spot. By now both of them were impatient and Gin didn't wait long before he added a second and then a third finger.

Ichigo was squirming underneath him now; face flushed and delicious wanton whimpers leaving his mouth as he panted. Gin jumped slightly when Ichigo grabbed his wrist and halted his movement.

"Enough, enter me already!" Ichigo snarled and let his golden wild eyes lock with Gin's ice blue.

"My my, so demanding," Gin chuckled his eyes full of mirth before he rid himself of his own fundoshi and gave his length a few strokes after coating his hand with his own spit.

He knew Ichigo had only slept with Aizen, so naturally he wouldn't be very used to penetration so he needed to make this as comfortable as possible. Gin moaned loudly when he finally let his length slide into Ichigo, and he relished in how Ichigo purred deep in his throat in response as he was finally filled by his chosen partner.

"Fuck…hah…yes!" Ichigo growled when Gin was finally seated.

When Gin didn't move immediately Ichigo popped a vein in annoyance before he purposely clamped down hard on Gin's length, making the silvette groan deeply in pleasure. No longer able to hold back after that provocative move from Ichigo's side he slid out and pushed back in with more force this time.

"H~ah...hnnn yes…That's more like it," Ichigo mewled and locked his feet around Gin's waist.

Gin growled and plunged into Ichigo again, setting up a rhythm with firm and hard thrusts topped with a little bit of speed. For a good of 10 minutes they kept that pace, Ichigo riding and meeting his thrusts perfectly as they moaned and growled in symphony, the fire growing steadily in their crotches. When Ichigo decided to let an incredibly deep, husky and wanton moan rip from his lips Gin decided to let go of all restraints.

With a move that made Ichigo squeak in surprise he flipped them over, lifting Ichigo so that he rested on his knees and rammed into him brutally making Ichigo howl out in pleasure as his prostate was nailed for the first time in their coupling.

"Fuck yes! H~ah…ngh…so deep…hah-arder..ah~nn," Ichigo mewled and Gin happily complied.

The large bed they were on soon rocked against the world as Ichigo was driven deep down into the mattress by Gin's vicious thrusting, both of them grunting, groaning, moaning and howling in pleasure as the pressure in their groins increased with every thrust.

When Ichigo's body began shivering Gin knew the teen was close, and he was slightly amazed at how long the teen had lasted after their joining and he knew he was just as close. He did a few more brutal thrusts into Ichigo which made the orange haired Arrancar let out loud yowls as his prostate was tortured, before he bent down to nuzzle Ichigo's neck.

"Together now Ichigo," Gin grunted before biting down on Ichigo's jugular in time with his final thrust, his body arching together with Ichigo's as they came hard together with loud howls that probably would have been heard miles away if it wasn't for the fact that Gin's room was built soundproof.

Both of them were shivering harshly after their strong orgasm as Gin slid out of Ichigo and rolled of off him collapsing into the mattress in unison with Ichigo whom planted his face into the covers. When their panting turned into calm breathing Ichigo broke the silence.

"Holy fuck that was amazing," Ichigo purred before turning onto his back and shifting closer to Gin, snuggling up to the snake whom happily embraced Ichigo's sweat laced body.

"Couldn' agree more with ya babe," Gin purred and kissed Ichigo on the forehead. Ichigo chuckled at the new nickname but promptly told him that it was for private use only, before he took a moment to look down at his own body.

"Damn we made quite the mess, shower?" he asked and looked at Gin with eyes that promised another round.

"I'd like that," Gin purred before snatching Ichigo up into his arms bridal style, using his foot to kick the door to his spacious bathroom open. They enjoyed a sensual second round of Ichigo against the tile wall with Gin ramming into him, before they cleaned each other up.

Gin gave Ichigo a fitting standar Arrancar uniform before getting his tools and fabrics ready, reading through the notes he'd made, preparing to begin tailoring Ichigo's new uniform. Just as Ichigo was about to leave the door he addressed Gin.

"Please just keep the design of my previous uniform and make it fit my new size," Ichigo said and smiled at the snake.

"Sure babe, and my door is always open fer yah," Gin said and Ichigo smirked at him.

"I'll remember that," Ichigo replied before he left the man to his work.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

"As you all now recently our Zero and Decima Espada Yammy Llargo challenged the newborn Kurosaki Ichigo to a life and death battle. Yammy was defeated and Ichigo successfully claimed the winning title of their battle. Therefore we are now one Espada short," Tousen announced from his place aside Aizen's throne.A loud chatter broke out between the Espada as they realized why Yammy hadn't arrived in the throne room when they were summoned.

"Aizen-sama, may I be allowed to ask if you will promote someone for the position?" Szayel asked pushing his glasses further up on the ridge of his nose, his golden eyes watching his master expectantly.

"Of course Grantz. And no I will not be promoting anyone for the position," Aizen answered and his eyes held amusement at the confused looks shared by everyone but Ulquiorra, Gin and himself.

"Why not?" Grimmjow asked bluntly not caring for titles as he usually did and eyed Aizen with curious orbs.

"Because I have welcomed someone new into our ranks. This Arrancar is more than befitting of the position, and he will make a valuable asset to our forces," Aizen explained.

"Then who is it?" Grimmjow demanded impatiently.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen said and with that Ichigo appeared in his respective chair at the table from seemingly out of nowhere startling some of the lower Espada.

"No way, Kurosaki is our new Ace; you've got to be fuckin kiddin me?" Grimmjow growled.

"It ain't no joke Grimmjow, I'm here and it's real," Ichigo taunted and grinned when Grimmjow snarled a 'fuck you' at him. "Still think you're going to be able to beat me in a spar?" Ichigo challenged with a smug smirk directed at Grimmjow.

"Ohohoh you're on Kurosaki. Don't go crying to Aizen when I grind you into dust," Grimmjow snarled.

"In your dreams," Ichigo replied with a laugh before he leaned back into his chair in a nonchalant way looking up to Aizen whom sent Ichigo an amused glance.

Ichigo would certainly liven things up a bit and maybe relieve some of the tension which flew between the ranks of his Espada, and Aizen was utterly pleased with how Ichigo had grown into such a reliable soldier in just a couple of weeks. He would make sure to reward him greatly when he had time, preferably by making him howl in pleasure as he squirmed beneath his own prying hands, he thought with a devious glint in his eyes.

Oh how he looked forward to that, and to the fact that Genryusai would be doomed once he and Ichigo entered the frontlines. Aizen no longer needed to perform the tedious task of subjugating the Hogyoku and fuse with it, no he could just as well toss the stone away for with Ichigo in his army they would be damn near invisible.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hey guys, I'm bringing you a new update for ETE! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Believe it or not GinIchi is one of my favorite pairings, I don't know why but there's just something about pairing them up that works in my book, hope you don't mind XD Ichigo is already becoming a feisty little sex god, and man do I look forward to pairing him up with more people… And just to make something clear, Ichigo will not only be submissive. Although I wrote that he likes being submissive Ichigo has his pride and he'll top some pairings **** There might be a few pairings where he'll play both parts, I'm not sure yet :p Anyways, I'm really busy with school and winter is creeping closer. If the alpine center starts up again I might be offered a job since I was employed before it went bankrupt, and that will leave me with even less time considering I have art to do as well, so updates might be a bit irregular from now on..**

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**Glossary?**

**Liberacion Total: Full release**

**Arah: I'm not sure if that expression is an actual Japanese word, but it is said when one is surprised or discovers something**

**Decimo: Means tenth**

**Hacen Temblar, Lagarto Loco: If you didn't read the previous chapter's glossary, it means Make them tremble, Crazy Lizard!**

**Konoyaro: You bastard**

**Urusai: We all know this one, Shut up XD**

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**Anyways, thanks for all the reviews on the last chapters :D**

**Please review!**


	8. Sexual frustrations

**Sexual frustrations  
**

Ichigo nodded at Aizen before tapping his finger in the air, easily tearing open a Garganta.

"Well then I'm off. I'll be back within the day if everything goes smoothly," Ichigo stated and stepped inside the deformed gate to be immediately shrouded by darkness.

He focused his reishi and sent it to his feet in order to create the white path in which he would walk on to get to his goal. This time the path was smooth and elegant, like everyone else's. Ichigo had sucked at controlling his spirit energy but with his evolving into an Arrancar he had trained himself harshly with the help of Ulquiorra surprisingly.

He grinned at the thought. Though the small man hid all emotion he still had incredible insight, and he was very wise and knowledgeable. Ichigo had already figured he would try and break through Ulquiorra's façade, because he was sure he'd have a loyal and good friend if he did so. Not that Ulquiorra would ever admit to being friends if that ever happened, but Ichigo wouldn't mind.

Although he had 'killed' Ulquiorra, he held no grudge and neither did it seem like the Cuatro Espada held one either. Ichigo's mind quickly got off of its course and he began imagining the lithe Arrancar squirming underneath him letting out wanton moans and shivers of pleasure as he rode him thoroughly. Ichigo blushed slightly and shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts as he noticed he was beginning to lose control of his reishi, seeing as the path started to crumble. He would do best not to fall down, because that would mean he would lose his soul to an inescapable dimension of complete void.

With a sigh Ichigo finally saw the light at the end which indicated he was nearing his destination and he picked up his pace to a light jog. Most Arrancar had to hurry through the Garganta because they couldn't handle the immense weight that fell down on their core, but Ichigo didn't need to. He had more than enough time, and he could handle it so for the most part he had been walking his way through the castaway dimension that the hollows used for transportation. When

Ichigo reached the source of the light he tapped it in the same manner he tapped the air, and the Garganta opened its exit for him and he stepped out into the fresh air above Urahara's shoten. He already had a welcome party and he snorted a bit. Lined up were Ururu with her gun, Jinta with his bat, Kisuke with Benihime at the ready and Tessai ready to form his hand signs and chant his spells.

"Gee what a welcome," Ichigo joked before descending onto the backyard of the Shoten.

"Kurosaki-san," Urahara greeted and tipped his hat.

"Hey Urahara-san, been a while hasn't it?" Ichigo said with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.

"Oi Ichigo, what the heck did ya do to yourself?" Jinta screeched and Ichigo grinned.

"Well obviously I've come to accept my hollow. We decided to rip our mask off so here I am," Ichigo said with another grin before pointing to the mask fragment and markings beneath his left eye. "I'm an Arrancar now," he stated and followed Urahara into the shop.

"So what can I do for you Kurosaki-san?" Urahara said with mirth in his eyes, his fan quickly appearing to cover his mouth.

"Nothing much really, I just have a few things to do here. I was wondering if you could give me a reaitsu concealing gigai," Ichigo said accepting the tea which Tessai handed him shortly after.

A squeal of excitement left Urahara as he grinned and rushed off to rummage through his lab. A few minutes later he came dragging on something which looked very much like a huge mannequin.

"What is that Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked and pointed to the strange thing.

"How nice of you to ask. This is my latest creation Kurosaki-san. This is a gigai which can be used by Arrancar, and it immediately takes on a modified appearance of the one entering it, and it conceals reiatsu as well!" Urahara eagerly explained. Ichigo eyed him for a moment before scowling at the ex-taichou.

"This seems too convenient to be something you made on a whim Urahara-san. You made this in case I decided to hone my hollow powers didn't you," Ichigo said and eyed the shopkeeper sternly.

"Why yes, how very bright of you Kurosaki-san," Urahara giggled before pushing Ichigo towards the gigai. "Now try it out Kurosaki-san," Urahara urged and Ichigo gave him an annoyed glare before picking the surprisingly light gigai up, pushing himself into it.

It was kind of weird, Ichigo had never used a gigai before, since he had a living body while he was a substitute shinigami. He scowled again and rolled his arms and kicked his legs, stretched his back and rolled his neck.

"It's kinda stiff, but I guess it isn't far from having a real body," Ichigo stated before walking around the room a few times. He stopped in front of a mirror which Urahara brought and eyed himself. He looked just like he did when he was alive, and he had his usual school uniform on. The only thing that the gigai couldn't hide was his permanent golden eyes, but other than that he looked like a normal teenage boy.

"This will work, how much do I owe you Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked the shopkeeper.

"Oh nothing at all, just give the Sotaichou a good ass kicking from me when you fight him," Urahara said.

"I'm sure you could land a few blows yourself Urahara-san, you wouldn't need me to do it for you," Ichigo said and eyed the scientist.

"Well you see Kurosaki-san, I have no plans of fighting in this war. But I'll be supporting you from the shadows, you shall know that my strength is for you to depend on and no one else dear student," Urahara said giving Ichigo a warm smile.

"I'll remember that shishou," Ichigo said before giving Urahara an equally warm smile before leaving the shoten.

Stepping out into the street he tried to decide where to head first. He hadn't seen his dad at all since he had demanded to know the truth, so he figure he'd stop by his sire and apologize for not showing himself since then and maybe explain what was going on in the spirit realm at the time. With a deep sigh and a look of determination he began heading in the direction of the Kurosaki clinic, no one who passed him ever recognizing him as the memory sweep worked to perfection.

He only hoped that they had put Keigo, Misuiro, Tatsuki, Yuzu and Karin under it. He did not want them to get involved with the upcoming war in any way. Even as insensitive as he was to other reiatsu forces he still noticed the small flame inside his sisters and his school friends, so he did not want them to end up in danger because of his own personal problems.

He sighed and soon found himself at his old home, and he gently knocked on the door of the clinic area before entering. He ventured down the hallway until he came to the door in which he had kicked in when he was pissed at his father for keeping secrets, and with a determined look he knocked on the door, certain that his father would still be working.

"Is it dinner already Yuzu?" his father answered from inside and Ichigo chuckled to himself before opening the door and stepping inside.

"I'm afraid there's no dinner yet, but she's definitely making it Otousan," Ichigo said and closed the door behind him to lean on it after locking it.

"Ichigo!" Isshin said with a shocked tone before his eyes watered and he shot forward to hug his son. Ichigo accepted the hug and held his father for a good while before Isshin had enough of the snuggling and stepped back.

"Yeah, I'm home Otousan," Ichigo said with a smile.

"Why haven't you come to visit my son, I am disappointed in you," Isshin asked and crossed his arms. Ichigo winced and raised a hand to the back of his head before smiling sheepishly at his dad.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to visit, I've been rather busy lately," Ichigo answered."I wanted to come and apologize, and to give you an update on what's going on," Ichigo said and moved to sit down in one of the extra chairs in the office.

Isshin eyed his son, noticing how hollow like his reiatsu was which made him scowl as he studied the young man in front of him.

"Something is different about you my son, did something happen?" Isshin asked and pulled his office chair to stand directly in front of Ichigo's before sitting down.

"Well I actually want to show you something, trust you to figure out something was off," Ichigo chuckled with a did 2 quick hand-seals and he was pushed out of the faux body immediately, the gigai returning to its mannequin look until he decided to put it on again.

"This is why you felt a change in my reiatsu Otousan," Ichigo said giving his father a concerned look, worried that his sire might not like the fact that he had become a full hollow. "I ripped of my mask," Ichigo said and awaited his father's response.

"So you evolved into an Arrancar," Isshin said and eyed his son yet again.

"Do you hate me now?" Ichigo asked his father with a slight tremble to his voice. He was about to start rolling excuses off of his tongue when he was embraced yet again from his sire who was sobbing loudly. "Goat-face?" Ichigo asked with uncertainty in his voice.

"I could never hate my own son Ichigo, no matter what you choose to be I'll always love you," Isshin declared and hugged his son tightly Ichigo returning the embrace in the same manner.

"Arigato," he whispered.

They continued like that for a while before they sat down again, Ichigo back in his faux body and resting his head on his palms as he hunched over in the chair.

"So what's going on right now? Are they treating you well?" Isshin asked and didn't fail to notice the major blush that appeared on Ichigo's face for a short while.

"Ehm yes…They're really nice, some of them are really good to me and I've made a few friends," Ichigo said.

"Can I assume that some of them are more than friends?" Isshin asked and Ichigo blushed furiously again. "Ohhhhh, who's your intended!" Isshin squealed and gave Ichigo big eyes.

"I don't have any intended yet, but I do confess some have become more than friends," Ichigo said.

"My son, do we need to have the 'talk'?" Isshin asked seriously and Ichigo put up his hands.

"Oh dear god no, I don't need that Otousan, I know everything about it," Ichigo said, his blush becoming even redder in color.

"Ichigo, you weren't forced or something?" Isshin asked, concern for his son eminent in the tone he spoke with.

"No Goat-Face, I wasn't forced! I had to sleep with Aizen in order to get my powers back!" Ichigo shouted and waved his arms in dismissal of his sire's words.

"You slept with Aizen!" Isshin exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"Well yes… See when I was abducted by Sui-Feng's squad and put in the tower of repentance they put seki seki stone around my neck," Ichigo began explaining but his dad already knew the rest of the story.

"Aizen saved you and you had to sleep with him to break the collar," Isshin said, his eyes downcast.

"Yes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be… I'll even admit I enjoyed it a little," Ichigo said. "He was very nice and gentle, and he let me take the lead and control the entire thing, really Goat-Face it wasn't bad at all," Ichigo quickly said.

"I see, have you slept with anyone else?" Isshin asked.

"Only one, I slept with Gin," Ichigo admitted and looked ashamed from his father's point of view.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing my son?" Isshin asked.

"Yes, I mean no…Yes!" Ichigo blabbered but was stopped when his father chuckled.

"Ichigo, you don't need to explain yourself or be ashamed," Isshin said. Ichigo heaved a sigh of relief and his shoulders dropped as he slowly relaxed again.

"You see Otousan," Ichigo began. "It's just that my instincts as a hollow are far more carnal than the few I had as a human, it's too hard to resist. Even though I'm the strongest one there along with Gin and Aizen, I still find myself drawn to the other Espada," Ichigo explained. "And it scares me, because I don't really feel like I could love any of them in that way, at least not yet. It's just pure lust," Ichigo added.

"I understand son. You'll learn your new body and instincts soon enough," Isshin reassured his son with a knowing smile. "So anything else I need to know?" Isshin asked and smiled warmly at his son.

"Not really, other than the fact that I defeated the zero Espada and was given his rank by Aizen. I'm not just an Arrancar, I am the ace of the Espada," Ichigo said with a proud grin. "And I'm mostly spending the days hunting and training to prepare for the war. I'm not sure when we will make our move, but I think it won't be more than a month's time from now. Are your powers back up to a 100 percent yet?" Ichigo asked.

"No not yet, but a month is more than enough for my batteries to charge. And you're the top dog in Aizen's army, I'm proud of you Ichigo," Isshin said and smiled a goofy smile at his son.

"I just hope I can find Zangetsu before the war starts, I really want to kick Yama-jii's ass with my shinigami powers," Ichigo said.

"Wait, what do you mean by finding Zangetsu?" Isshin asked.

"Well I seem to have lost the necklace in which my shinigami powers reside when Gin busted my execution party and saved me. It's probably somewhere in Seiretei, I just pray someone on my side picked it up. A few of the Captain's objected to my execution after all," Ichigo explained and got a longing look in his eyes.

He missed the calming thrum of Zangetsu against his chest; it was kind of reassuring to him and helped him keep calm. That's was when something singed through Ichigo's mind and he gasped before his head fell limply to the side and his eyes froze. He heard a faint whisper which sounded oddly familiar, and he strained his senses to catch the words spoken.

_"Ichigo…with…Kenpachi,"_ was all Ichigo could hear before he woke up again with a start. Ichigo knew that it had to be Zangetsu and he smiled in relief.

"What just happened my son?" Isshin asked.

"Zangetsu somehow managed to communicate with me. I only heard three whispered words, but I think he's with Kenpachi!" Ichigo said with a happy voice. "He's going to be safe with Kenpachi, I know it!" Ichigo stated and smiled happily at his father.

"That's good to hear," Isshin said. They both nearly jumped out of their seats when Yuzu's happy voice called from the living part of the house.

"Otousan! Karin! Dinner is ready!" She called and Ichigo smiled warmly at the sound of his sister's voice before getting a sad look in his eyes wondering if they remembered him.

"They still remember you, they would never forget their brother. Besides I think Karin saw you that night you came to me for answers," Isshin said with a smile before hugging his son.

"Now off you go, take your time and learn to know your new powers and instincts Ichigo. Just trust yourself and everything will be ok," Isshin said and gave the shoulder of his son a friendly push.

"Arigato Otousan," Ichigo smiled before leaving through the back door. He made his way to Urahara where he dropped the gigai and thanked him for his help, before he waved goodbye and opened a Garganta to Las Noches.

"I'll probably see you again once the war breaks out. Until then be safe," Ichigo called to his Shishou before letting the Garganta close, his feet touching the white sand of the castle grounds only minutes later.

He had a look of determination in his face as he entered the fortress and headed for his quarters to rest. He thought that maybe he would find someone to spar with later, but he would sleep and shower first anyhow. With a tired sigh he dropped down in his bed not even bothering to remove his clothing and fell asleep on the spot.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo turned in his bed and groaned as the life of the awake called on him. "Oh come on, five minutes more," he huffed and tried to fall back asleep but failed miserably. He cussed and sat up, the covers falling down to pool in his lap as he yawned and stretched his arms, cracked his neck and pulled his fingers satisfied at the small riddance of tension.

Ichigo got out of bed and narrowed his eyes, he knew someone was in his room but he didn't show it. That presence was probably why he had woken up in the first place, courtesy of his hollow instincts. Ichigo bent down and stretched his back, before cracking up his knees and ankles and purred ever so slightly because popping the joints felt really good.

He went over to the small kitchenette and grinded some coffee beans before dumping them into the filter of the coffee machine. He hit the start button and leaned on the counter while he waited for the drink to brew. A cup of coffee always got rid of his drowsiness and soon the delicious scent of the hot beverage filled his room.

He switched the brewer off and got a cup from the small cabinet to the left of the sink and poured the scorching hot liquid into it, adding a little milk just after and rolling the cup to mix the two drinks. Just as he tipped the cup onto his lips he felt an incoming attack and snarled loudly while catching the striking sun tanned hand of Grimmjow with his free one, glaring at the panther for disrupting his sip of the beverage.

"Fuck off Grimmjow," Ichigo snarled before throwing the man single handed over his shoulder, somehow managing to keep the coffee from spilling during it all. Ichigo grinned smugly at Grimmjow who landed in a heap on top of his bed while sipping from his coffee, making a noise of satisfaction as the burning liquid warmed his throat. He quickly downed the cup before Grimmjow tried anything again, delighted at how quick the caffeine took effect and shoved his drowsiness down.

"And don't ever disturb my sleep again Sexta," Ichigo snarled as Grimmjow got up on his feet.

Grimmjow narrowed his swirling blue eyes at the new born before scenting the air, his instincts raging as he immediately struck forward pinning Ichigo to the concrete wall with a snarl.

"Grimmjow what the hell!" Ichigo snarled and tried to break free of the iron grip. He swallowed when Grimmjow bent forward and sniffed in the crook of his neck letting out a snarl of distaste.

"You reek of Shinigami! Have you gone friendly with them again Kurosaki?" Grimmjow's voice worded in a menacing tone.

"Geez Grimmjow, chill out. I was visiting my sire, he's a shinigami for fucks sake," Ichigo growled and finally managed to push the feline off of him.

"Tch, ya shouldn't meddle with the shinigami no matter who they are to you," Grimmjow said and glared at Ichigo.

"Besides, we Arrancar hate that smell, it makes bile rise in my throat," Grimmjow snarled.

"If it bothers you so much I'll take a shower," Ichigo stated and gave Grimmjow an annoyed look.

With that Ichigo took a quick shower and realized he had forgotten to bring a new uniform so he simply tied a towel loosely around himself, not even thinking to check how it hung meaning that he walked out in front of Grimmjow, who still hadn't left mind you, revealing just a teasing amount of his private region.

Ichigo dug through his wardrobe but everything he had was still too small and he groaned, remembering that the uniform he had just thrown off before the shower was the only clean and fitting one Gin had provided him with the day before.

"Fucking hell, I could really use that new uniform now," Ichigo cursed before venturing back to his bathroom to put on the dirty standard one Gin had given him. Just as his lead foot passed the entrance to the spacious bath a familiar knocking code rapped on his door and Ichigo lit up like a light bulb.

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall come," Ichgio chuckled before strolling up to the door, still unknowingly teasing Grimmjow whom found his crotch aching more and more for every damn step the new born took in front of him.

Grimmjow would not deny the fact that the young Arrancar had sex appeal, and damn wasn't he intrigued by that revealing towel which hung oh so loosely on the teens slim hips. Ichigo smirked when he felt just a small tingle of pheromones brushing against is skin and chuckled to himself before opening the door to the ever grinning silver snake.

"Hiya Babe," Gin said not realizing Grimmjow was in the room before he heard a way to possessive snarl rip from the bluenette. "Gee, seems like Grimmy is sexually frustrated ovah there, yer way too cruel Ichi, flauntin' yer body like tha'," Gin snickered with mirth pooling into his face.

Ichigo smirked knowingly before picking up from where Gin had stopped while he grabbed the new uniform Gin had fitted for him.

"Really, I didn't notice," Ichigo said, dragging out the 'really' just for fun.

Both of them chuckled lowly at the strained mew which could barely be heard that left Grimmjow and Ichigo decided he wouldn't mind playing a bit. Gin soon found himself flush with Ichigo, his mouth being ravished by the teen and a surprised moan left the snake as Ichigo approached him aggressively.

On the couch Grimmjow gulped at the arousing display, and nearly choked on the heavy pheromones which spilled out in the air as Ichigo and Gin worked up arousals to rival Grimmjow's hidden one.

"Hah yes Ichi, maul my throat ohhhh," Gin mewled as Ichigo's sharp teeth nibbled on his jugular, piercing it at a few places to draw the delicious blood.

During all of this Ichigo had guided them over to his bed and Gin was soon free of any restraining clothing and was displayed beautifully beneath a crouching Ichigo. When Ichigo reached down to fondle Gin's sacks an uncertain look flashed through the ice blue eyes which were revealed now, much to Ichigo's pleasure.

"If you thought I'd be the only one offering up my ass, you were completely mistaken," Ichigo stated with a snarl, the sheer force and dominance behind it making pleasant shivers race through Gin's pale frame.

Ichigo smirked and let his tongue trail down Gin's torso before stopping at the base of his dick, teasing a bit before it ran up the length and trailed through Gin's slit making the silvette moan lustfully, a sound which went straight to both Ichigo and Grimmjow's groin. Gin didn't realize that Ichigo had lubed up the fingers on his free hand before one finger snuck inside like a ninja.

He let out an unmanly squeak of surprise which made Ichigo hum in approval, his finger curling and stroking Gin's silky insides. For one who had never tried being the seme Ichigo was performing brilliantly, and all the time he deliberately made it so that their position would reveal everything to Grimmjow whom was frozen solid in his spot on the couch.

From the feel of Gin's cave Ichigo concluded Gin had experience as a uke and he was amazed at how easily the snake loosened up for him. One finger quickly became three and when a cry of pleasure left the squirming and coiling snake Ichigo replaced his fingers with something much more satisfying, burying himself to the hilt with brute and dominant force which had Gin arching beautifully from the bed with a strangled cry. Ichigo grinned deviously when he heard a strangled moan from behind him and he craned his neck to look at the panther.

"There's one spot open Sexta," Ichigo purred and smirked at the shocked expression in Grimmjow's face.

Grimmjow quickly caught himself though and relished in the thought of maybe being able to taste Gin or maybe even Ichigo's perfect body. Ichigo continued his deep and aggressive thrusts until Grimmjow crawled up on the bed, his hakama quickly gone leaving his proud erection standing tall in front of Gin's face. Ichigo looked at Grimmjow before giving a suggestive smirk, then surprising Gin by flipping him around and hoisting him up onto his arms and legs, thrusting back into him with force making Gin let out a long and extremely wanton moan.

"Hahn…fuck Ichi…more!" Gin demanded and Ichigo growled leaning over the pale back to nibble at Gin's bared throat. While doing so Ichigo gave a barely visible grin to Grimmjow and once he moved back Grimmjow's fingers yanked Gin's head towards his groin with a snarl. Gin hadn't even notice Grimmjow crawling onto the bed and his eyes widened when he realized what Grimmjow was implying.

"I am not…hah…sucking him…off for your sick pleasure…Ichi…go," Gin panted stubbornly and couldn't keep in the dissatisfied mewl when Ichigo moved back just enough to quit rubbing against his prostate.

"What was that?" Ichigo growled and pulled farther out, smirking when Gin tried to follow him. Ichigo placed a hand on Gin's ass to keep him from moving and was pleased to hear a distressed whine leave the snake.

"Move teme," Gin demanded and yelped when Ichigo smacked him across the ass.

"Ah ah ah," Ichigo cooed and smacked Gin again. "You're in no position to demand anything, realize your position bitch," Ichigo snarled and bent forward to bite harshly at Gin's shoulder which made him gasp out in pleasure.

Gin was a tiny bit masochistic in the bed but he refused to be subdued. He continued to stand his ground until Ichigo began thrusting shallowly, just deep enough to hit his prostate but not nearly enough to satisfy him.

"Fuck you," Gin snarled but quickly whined again when Ichigo teased his prostate again. "Ichigooooo…" Gin drawled.

"Who's your master?" Ichigo demanded and when he got no answer he spanked Gin again, also threatening to leave him unsatisfied by pulling out completely.

"Shit…You are," Gin finally said lowering his head in defeat. Ichigo grinned and leaned down over Gin's back again.

"Yes that's right, now be a good little bitch and do as I tell you," Ichigo purred, the vibrations teasing Gin's skin making him get goose bumps all over.

"Hai," Gin said and reached forward to grab Grimmjow's straining erection.

Watching Ichigo's little dominance game had been a huge turn on, and now Grimmjow was even more sure he wanted to fuck the new born right through the mattress. He groaned as a sinful tongue snaked its way around his aching dick, and quickly dug his fingers through that soft mop of hair, using his hand to guide Gin's force, pace and rhythm.

Ichigo left Gin to suck Grimmjow for a while before he finally awarded his uke by ramming into Gin which made the snake jump forward and deep throat the panther, strangling the cry which wanted to leave him. Ichigo and Grimmjow locked eyes and they grinned at each other while Ichigo set up a body breaking pace, adjusting his rhythm to the one Grimmjow silently ordered Gin to do, ramming into Gin whenever he moved back towards him, pulling out when Gin moved forward on Grimmjow's dick.

They continued like that steadily until they all neared their completion, Ichigo reaching underneath Gin to pump his neglected erection. A few seconds later heavy growls, loud moans and deep grunts filled the room before they all three came together, Gin forcing himself to swallow what Grimmjow delivered, while relishing in the feeling of Ichigo's hot seed filling him from behind at the same time.

Ichigo let out a satisfied hum before pulling out of Gin, looking over to Grimmjow who was currently ogling him. Ichigo grinned and looked Grimmjow over, realizing just now how hot looking Grimmjow's body was. Obviously they shared the same thoughts as their erections rose yet again, and Ichigo growled lustfully while tackling Grimmjow down into the mattress.

Ichigo soon found himself beneath Grimmjow and he smirked in invitation, spreading his legs just a tiny bit for the panther and relished in the sultry tone Grimmjow used as he said ,"I'm gonna fuck you right through the mattress…Ichigo." And with that the three entered a second mind blowing round of the most amazing ass pounding Ichigo had ever received, while he played with Gin's ass and sucked him off to repay him for the first round.

It didn't take long before they all came again, and after Gin had sealed the door with kido they sauntered off into dream world, piled together in Ichigo's bed. Tomorrow they would begin to prepare for the coming war, and their blood boiled with the carnal instinct to fight and devour as they dreamed of fierce battles, followed by their own great victories.

In the control room a certain pink haired arrancar laid unconscious and sweat laced across Aizen's lap, the ex-taichou running his hands through the pink strands as he came down from his own orgasm after having spied on his subordinates' fun time.

He smirked devilishly and once again fantasized about how he would ram Ichigo's sweet little ass through the wall once they had one the war. He'd damn right do it in the Sotaichou's own bed as well. Oh he really looked forward to that, he really fucking did.

**IchiGrimmGin! I have no idea why it ended up like that, the idea just struck me and I think it turned out rather good *winks* Strangely enough it seems to work in my book, personally I think it was damn hot XD Anyways, just a random building up to the war chapter. Hope ya'all enjoyed it.**

**Reviews are what give life to this story, so please leave one!**

**Thanks in advance!**


	9. I died twice for you

**I died twice for you**

A warm wind blew through the busy streets of Karakura as the bell at the school rang, and students piled out from the main entrance to go home. Of course the usual group, minus one came walking out chattering like normal not at all affected by the loss of the vibrant orangette who would have been called their leader.

All seemed unaffected except for the silent Sado, whom had found himself lingering farther and farther behind the rest of the group as he still found it hard to cope with how Ishida and Inoue had rejected Ichigo so easily after learning of his hollow nature. Sado was saddened, for although his best friend was dead he was still around and they could see each other whenever they wanted to.

He had been shocked when Rukia had appeared to tell of how Ichigo had been caught and ordered executed, the anger he had felt was something that had not risen within him since his childhood. The man was not adept to feeling so strongly, except for when it came to loyalty and it had been shaking to him.

When he had heard of who had saved Ichigo, he had been mildly surprised. Even though he wanted to despise the Arrancar who had held Inoue captive and driven Ichigo to loose him, he couldn't help but feel relieved and grateful all the same. He'd been thinking about his brother in arm a lot lately, and he was wondering about what his longtime friend was doing.

Although it had not been officially announced that a war was coming to their small group, it lingered in the air. He knew something big was going on, and Ichigo would play a big role. Like he had sworn he would lay down his life for Ichigo, as Ichigo would lay down his life for his. That's how they worked and functioned, and no one could disrupt that. He would grudgingly admit that he would place Ichigo first in the line if they ever faced danger, and he would not hesitate to look away from Inoue and Ishida.

Sado felt a growing resentment for the both of them ache in his chest, and he had decided long ago that he would support Ichigo and Ichigo alone. For Ichigo was not at fault, no the fault lied with Inoue, Ishida and Aizen who had caused the disruption of their friendship. All of this was flowing through his head as he trailed behind the known group, his demeanor dark and uninviting.

"Sado?" Tatsuki called as she turned around to face the gentle giant with a questioning look.

Sado's revealed eye lit up a tiny bit as he heard his name called but he wasn't really paying attention.

"Sado?" Ishida's voice sounded next which immediately got a reaction out of the teen.

Ishida flinched when Sado's eyes met his, shocked to find resentment in those eyes. Sado's eyes were the key to read his emotions, and Ishida swallowed nervously. He instantly realized what the cause for the resentment was, and he tilted his glasses up nervously as he stared at Sado.

The entire group had stopped and Keigo was shifting nervously at Ishida's side, while Inoue looked oblivious to the tension. Mizuiro pretended to not notice while he toyed with his phone, while Tatsuki had joined Sado in staring at Ishida. Tatsuki desperately wanted for their group to remain, so she had stubbornly hid her feelings on the topic of Ichigo.

The memory wipe had not worked for long, and her resentment towards Ishida had returned full force. She hated the fact that she resented her very best friend Inoue for driving Ichigo out like that as well. She had been the only one able to read Sado for the past few months, as she shared his feelings and she knew that Sado was struggling. And now it seemed the time had come for the gentle teen to break free from his group.

Sado's expression didn't change, but his eyes told the story. Without a sound those resentful eyes were turned away from Ishida as he left them quietly. Tatsuki looked after Sado with sad eyes before she scowled at Ishida after he let out an annoyed huff. She then turned angered eyes towards the auburn haired girl who she had called her friend for so long.

"I can't believe you two," was all she said before she turned around and began jogging after Sado to catch up.

"Tatsuki-chan?" Inoue called with a wavering voice, as the emotion she had seen in her friends eyes struck her.

Tatsuki and Sado had made their choice, Ishida and Inoue's unreasonable actions were inexcusable and so they had left the group without even looking back at them. Inoue broke out in tears and sat down on her knees sobbing, Ishida immediately there to comfort her.

"Shhh Orihime. It's they who can't see Kurosaki's true colors. If she could leave you so easily she never was your friend," he said as he rubbed circles on her back to calm her.

Inoue nodded and leaned into the embrace her boyfriend offered, Ishida staring venomously after Tatsuki and Sado.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo was in the familiar park in the calm Karakura town, doing people watching as he enjoyed what would probably be one of his last days of peace for a while. The stiff gigai hindered complete free movement, but he found he did not mind. He found that he was able to relax as he sat atop a small ridge at the edge of the park, gazing out over the river which ran through town.

His mom's warm winds raked through his hair as she watched over her son. Up in a tree nearby Grimmjow sat slouched back against the trunk lazily, while Ulquiorra kept his feet on the ground as he leaned on the trunk studying the people which passed them a small stretch below on the street. His calm jade eyes would flicker over to the form of the young Arrancar on the ridge every once in a while, his mind picking up on how relaxed Ichigo actually seemed as he sat there.

Even though Ichigo knew how to control his reiatsu now, he still didn't manage to hide it completely and ever since Ichigo had arrived for his permanent stay in Las Noches his reiatsu had always been high strung, heavy and stressed. Those three aspects were still there, but they were extremely dulled and replaced by an indifferent calm as the teen studied the humans walking past in a much similar way to the Cuatro Espada.

"Damn it, what's so relaxing about just sitting there like a damn statue?" Grimmjow growled in an annoyed voice, his brows scrunching as his patience was quickly running out.

Ichigo had not asked them to come along, but Halibell had nudged them to the point that they did. Neither of them was quite sure as to why they had gone, but they felt protective over their newest family member, though of course they'd never admit it. Another 15 minutes passed with whining from Grimmjow and no movement from either Ichigo nor Ulquiorra and the sun was beginning to creep down towards the horizon slowly.

That's when Ulquiorra felt a change in Ichigo's reiatsu. It changed from calm and indifferent to agitated and angered in a matter of seconds and Ulquiorra wondered why. He scanned the area for anything that could have triggered such a change, and then he felt the reiatsu of that girl he had held captive, and the reiatsu of that annoying little quincy. He looked over to Ichigo again, and his pupils shrank just a tiny bit as he realized that Ichigo was standing now, staring at them with angered eyes.

"What are you doing here Kurosaki?" Ishida spat venomously.

"I'm visiting my home," Ichigo answered stiffly.

"This isn't your home Kurosaki, you're dead. You don't belong anywhere," Ishida stated coldly. A barely heard snarl escaped Ichigo at those words and his lip twitched upwards to reveal inhumanly pointed canines.

"You should leave Kurosaki, before I force you," Ishida challenged. Ichigo's eyes lit up with that and he openly glared at Ishida, Inoue hiding behind her.

"This is my home and you have no right to threaten me Uryuu," Ichigo growled, his fingers twitching furiously.

"I have every right to threaten a monster," Ishida declared and took a step forward, raising his arm to let the quincy cross dangle in the air. "If you don't want to end up dead I suggest you leave," Ishida pressed.

"What makes you think you can kill me Uryuu?" Ichiho growled and smirked at Ishida, hunching forward with his hands raised a tiny bit, making him look like a predator ready to spring. Ishida huffed and straightened his back, pushing his glasses up like always.

"Considering the fact that you removed your shinigami powers you are a helpless rabbit before me," Ishida concluded.

"A monster like you shouldn't be allowed to live Kurosaki-kun," Inoue whispered from behind Ishida. Ichigo bared his fangs at Inoue before smiling innocently at her, his demeanor changing as he straightened his back again.

"You know what Inoue, I don't know why you fear me so. I died twice trying to save you, and this is how you thank me? The hollow that attacked Uryuu and Ulquiorra was not me. I was dead remember? The one who killed Ulquiorra and stabbed Uryuu was H'tsu, the hollow I got from my mother. So don't you dare to call me a monster, because I'll damn right show you then what you made me become," Ichigo said sweetly, his eyes closed as he spoke with a bright smile which betrayed the hidden message in his words. I

noue shivered and tears poked in the corner of her eyes as the words sunk in, her petite fingers gripping the sleeve of Ishida's jumper tightly. Ishida looked at Ichigo with a calculative gaze before he took a step forward.

"What do you mean about showing us what we made you into?" Ishida questioned.

"Oh so now you care?" Ichigo said with a smile."I'll tell you then," he said with a happy voice.

"Do you want to know why I even got caught up in that damn hostage situation? Because I was devastated over the fact that you abandoned me Uryuu. I fucking loved you, I really did," Ichigo began. "I really wanted to die, I still wish I could have lost my memories and woken up in some shitty Rukongai district," he continued.

"Because I died, Soul Society saw its chance to punish me for saving Orihime. They forbade me from being myself; they forbade me use of my powers. They took away my power to protect those I hold dear. They basically killed me without actually removing my life force Ishida," Ichigo said and took a short break.

"Do you know who gave me my life back? Aizen did, he reached out his hand to me after I had been abandoned by nearly everyone," Ichigo continued. "And I accepted, and I am so fucking happy I did. Because I embraced my enemy I was saved when Soul Society tried to execute me for saving your girlfriend Uryuu," Ichigo continued. "And it also led me to becoming friends with the one I share my body with, and he became my new strength. The very same hollow that attacked you Uryuu, has become my lifeline now," Ichigo said.

"So go ahead, attack me for being different. Attack me for being born half hollow, attack me because of an action I had no say in," Ichigo said with a smile before his demeanor changed completely again. "But I can't promise I won't kill you for real this time," Ichigo ended and eyed Ishida darkly.

Ishida looked at Ichigo for a short while, before he snarled loudly and activated his bow. Ichigo evaded the first arrow aimed at him, a cloud of dust coiling around him as a result of the impact the arrow had made. Ichigo hid within the dust and did the seals to free him from the gigai, and when Ishida moved in for the kill and shot another arrow, the arrow was repelled and flung right back at him. When the dust finally settled Ichigo appeared in his arrancar form, mask fragment and face markings present. His short hair spiky as usual, while the longer strands behind were tied in a neat braid. Inverted eyes lit up as Ichigo growled menacingly at the two.

"Because I saved Inoue, I was forced to give up my shinigami powers and I was sentenced to death," Ichigo's echoing voice said and he glared at Inoue and Ishida.

"You rejected me, the shinigami rejected me, but the Arrancar took me in as one of their own. You say they are heartless and mindless monsters, but that is so wrong you have no idea. You assume they don't know love, and that they don't know how to care, that they don't know emotion. But the Arrancar are far more loving and caring than you could ever hope to be, and you are human, the very illustration of love and emotions," Ichigo snarled.

"You turned on me because I was different, and that alone makes you non-human Uryuu and Inoue," Ichigo stated.

"You've become like them, a real monster," Inoue shrieked pointing an accusing finger at Ichigo.

"No Inoue, I have not become a monster. I have accepted what I am and joined the only ones who will accept me," Ichigo retorted and glared at the busty girl. Inoue was shaking; trying to fool herself by saying Ichigo was a monster. She wanted to believe it was true, but deep inside she knew it was not.

She called forth her power and chanted Tsubaki's attack command, the little fairy striking at Ichigo immediately. Ichigo snorted and swatted the fairy off, watching as he fell unconscious to the ground.

"Tsubaki!" Inoue screamed and ran forth to the little fairy.

"Do you know how strong a hollow's instincts are Inoue?" Ichigo asked rhetorically. "It is so strong it can override my emotions completely. It is screaming for me to put you in your place, to show you not to bare your fangs at someone superior to you. For even though my heart says to not kill you, my instincts are raging at me and telling me to end you," Ichigo warned.

"You made a grave mistake trying to attack me, because right now my instincts are about to take over," Ichigo stated and lunged for the girl. He was stopped by her shun shun rikka the first time, but Inoue was helpless.

"You foolish little wench, that will not save you," Ichigo said and rammed his fist against the shield, braking it like thin glass.

"Impossible!" Inoue cried and looked up at Ichigo with big eyes brimming with fear.

Ichigo grinned evilly at her before stepping back, his whole frame shaking with rage. Ichigo didn't even flinch when Ishida appeared in the air above him, shouting "Licht Regen," letting the arrows hail down upon Ichigo. Ichigo didn't even try to dodge; he just took every arrow straight on. Ishida landed in front of him expecting to see great damage, but only one hour had slipped through Ichigo's hierro, and that was only because Ichigo had let it on purpose.

"Impossible, you should have taken far more damage than that!" he declared in a high pitched voice.

Ichigo only looked at Ishida, before dragging the arrow that had pierced his throat out, not even wincing at the pain. As soon as the offending object was out, the wound closed and Ichigo crushed the arrow in his hands. Ishida snarled and leapt up into the air, firing another round of 1200 arrows at once, refusing to believe that only one arrow had managed to hit Ichigo. When the rain of arrows ended, Ichigo once again stood unharmed, but this time there were two new figures in front of Ichigo.

"Kurosaki, it is time to leave," Ulquiorra stated calmly, eyeing the two humans with indifference.

"Nice lil' speech ya made Kurosaki, I was so touched I nearly cried," Grimmjow joked and was immediately flung across the field from a hit to the jaw by Ichigo's fist.

"Shut up sexta," Ichigo growled before walking up to Ulquiorra calmly.

"It seems Aizen-sama is calling me," Ichigo said when the communicator in his wrist began beeping.

"As much as I'd love to slowly tear you apart, I have duties to attend to. Say hi to Chad and Tatsuki for me if you ever come across them," Ichigo said in a sing song voice, courtesy of his shishou before tearing a Garganta open.

Seconds later Ishida was left to gawk at the open space before him, where Ichigo had disappeared into a Garganta with two Espada who were supposed to be dead. Ichigo had killed both of them, Ishida knew it was true. So how come they were alive and well?

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo yawned and finished drying off his hair. He had just come back from a scout in the desert. Aizen had told Ichigo to go and find some adjuchas which he thought would be fitting fraccion and Ichigo had done so after all of his protests had been refused. He had grudgingly gone out in search for three adjuchas to take back to Las Noches.

He had been surprised to come over a trio of adjuchas, all of which had immediately threatened him to move out of their territory. Usually any adjuchas he met would cower before him, but those three had refused to bow for him and fought him head on. He had been quite amazed at their strength, knowing that if they were turned into arrancar they would easily be on par with Harribel's fraccion. Even after he had given them a thorough beating and they were unable to walk properly, they still refused to admit defeat.

Ichigo had smiled then, and invited them to share a meal with him. He had told them to wait in the exact same spot as he left them, and a few minutes later he had brought them an adjuchas to feast upon. While they ate he had asked them about their past, their bonds and their reason for sticking together. They had ended up having a rather enjoyable conversation, and then Ichigo had asked them to become his fraccion.

They had accepted and he had guided them into the feared fortress of Las Noches. They said that they had no names and wanted their new master to name them, and Ichigo had done so.

Cirillo was the leader of the group, a pretty long lived adjuchas as he was around 100 years old. Ichigo had given him that name because Cirillo remembered he had been a Lord in his human life, and because he had the distinct characteristics of a leader.

Ferro was the youngest of the group, and he was described by his companions as the one with the strongest will. Hence Ichigo had named him Ferro, which translated into someone with a physique of iron.

The last one he had named Raniero, for Ichigo had seen how the adjuchas had thought before attacking, tried to figure out his weakness and use it. Raniero translated to wise warrior and Ichigo was happy with the names he had given his adjuchas. They too had felt as if the names were truly theirs and when Ichigo had presented them to Aizen they were eager to evolve.

Ichigo had been happy to see the evolved forms of his fraccion.

Cirillo appeared as a tall and graceful man with long raven black hair, held back in a braid. His eyes were a striking green, and his mask fragment appeared like a collar around his throat, with fang like spikes running along the top of it. Cirillo was actually a lizard type like Ichigo, and Ichigo suspected that was why they had gotten along so easily after they settled their fight.

Ferro was slightly shorter compared to Cirillo, but he had broader shoulders and a much more muscled build, his frame heavy and intimidating. His hair was short, with a small rat tail in the nape of his neck and dyed a crimson color. His eyes were violet and his mask fragment resembled a head band which covered the top of his forehead, his hair hanging out above the ridge of it, two horns standing up from above were his eyes sat, curving backwards resembling the horns of a well-endowed ram.

Raniero came forth as a fairly tall man, with a muscled but lean build with shoulder long untamable silver hair. His complexion was pale and his eyes were a deep crimson. His mask fragment resembled Grimmjow's very much, only that it resembled that of a canine and was located at his left jaw.

They had been given their uniforms and Ichigo had taken them to his room to explain the rules of Las Noches, and tell of what he expected from them which was simply strong and unbreakable loyalty as well as a back to lean on in combat. Their deal was simple and easy, just the way Ichigo wanted it to be. They had been given a large room, in which they shared, which was situated a few rooms apart of Ichigo's quarters.

Ichigo had smiled at them and told them to settle in, before he had gone to take a refreshing shower. Now he was heading out to his favorite spot on the roof, planning to take a relaxing nap in the cool winds of the desert. When he jumped up to the top of the tower, he was surprised to find his private space invaded by a very familiar and loudly snoring Primera Espada, namely Coyote Starrk.

Ichigo had to snort softly at the utterly adorable display, as Starrk was sprawled out on the roof, his hair all over the place and all the while he looked so comfortable and relaxed, a small line of drool running down his chin and pooling up beneath his face. Ichigo shook his shoulders and thought he could just as well join him in dream land. His body screamed for rest and he silently laid down a few feet away from the wolf, quickly escaping the reality in favor of a peaceful dream filled with joy.

A good hour or so later something nudged at his mind and he frowned in his now half-awake state. Something was weighing down on his chest and he was curious as to what it could be. It didn't feel threatening and so he forced himself awake, and as he stirred so did Starrk. Ichigo stared down at Starrk, mildly shocked to find the Espada lying across his chest drooling on his vest with sleep hazed eyes.

"Oh," Starrk slurred. "Mornin'," he then said like sleeping using Ichigo's as a pillow wasn't weird at all.

"Why the heck are you sleeping on me?" Ichigo questioned, raising his body up to rest on his elbows so that he could look properly at the Primera.

"Don't know, but you make a comfortable pillow," Starrk yawned, not completely awake yet as he stayed atop of Ichigo's chest leaning heavily on the young Arrancar.

Ichigo snorted before deciding he didn't mind even though it was a tad awkward and laid back down. Starrk let his hand rest across Ichigo's chest as he snuggled in close to Ichigo's and made himself comfortable yet again, his soft snores soon breaking the silence of the desert. Ichigo chuckled at the cute display, and put his own hand across Starrk's frame, letting his other hand stroke lazily through those wavy brown locks, before he was nudged to sleep by Starrk's rhythmic breathing. The next time they awoke it was because someone coughed loudly behind them, Ichigo getting up like his ass was on fire, hurling Starrk off to roll over a few times before he stopped.

"Ichigo, what the hell!" A very annoyed Starrk shouted and glared at Ichigo. Ichigo didn't answer and just looked at Raniero with a barely visible blush in his face.

"Even though I am sure it is not what it looked like, I can't deny that you looked utterly adorable together Kurosaki-sama," Raniero chuckled and looked at Ichigo with mirth in his eyes. Ichigo scoffed before grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of his head.

"We must have somehow moved together in our sleep," Ichigo explained and straightened up with a serious look. If his fraccion had come to get him something must be happening.

"So why are you here Raniero-san," Ichigo asked, his stern eyes falling upon his new fraccion.

"I have come to inform you of hostile intruders which need to be dealt with. Aizen-sama has ordered you to take care of it Kurosaki-sama," Raniero said and eyed his master.

"I see, I'll be on my way then," Ichigo said and waved goodbye to Starrk before turning around to jump down from the tower.

"Oh and by the way Raniero-san, please just call me Ichigo," he said before departing and heading for Aizen's office to get information about the intruders' whereabouts and numbers.

**~~~~Embrace the Enemy~~~~**

Ichigo trudged through the sands heading for the outer borders of Las Noches' territory. The intruders did not dare to move further into Aizen's realm until they had more info on the whereabouts of him and his troops. Little did they know that the tracking devices Kurosutchi had given them had already been countered by Szayel's nifty devices which would block any hostile tracking units from pinpointing their exact location.

Ichigo hoped that he did not know any of the shinigami in the group, and prayed that they retreated without him having to kill anyone unnecessary. He scented the air, his sensitive nose picking up the smell of shinigami in the distance. Even though he was part shinigami the smell still invoked the sense of danger to him, the old rivalry between the two species embedded deep within his instincts. He let out a growl unwillingly and unconsciously sped up, H'tsu surfacing to rile up Ichigo's instincts even more.

H'tsu had no ties to any shinigami save for his sire and dam, and therefore had no qualms about killing random shinigami. H'tsu was a beast by nature, his claws craving blood just for entertainment and that was the only side Ichigo despised about his darker half.

Ichigo mentally smacked himself when he was within hearing distance of the small settlement the shinigami had made, and furiously pushed H'tsu back into the city of horizontal skyscrapers before he calmed himself down. H'tsu gave him an irritated scoff before he knelt under the reeling will of his counterpart with a defiant snarl, Ichigo telling him to quit whining.

Ichigo sonidoed up into the air to keep himself out of the shinigami's line of sight. From where he stood he eyed the camp analytically, marking all the shinigami within his head using different codes which referred to the color of their zanpakuto. Ichigo immediately recognized a couple of medical shinigami and winced at the thought of maybe having to kill them.

Although he knew even the healers were trained and probably skilled in combat, he thought it to be cowardly to attack an enemy's medical team. Though it might be looked upon as a strategically wise move by a war general, Ichigo was no such thing therefore he could move in a circle around and create his own option.

It was clear the rest of the group was trained fighters, and Ichigo studied them in an attempt to deduce which squad they were from. He was delighted to find that they were a mix of Kurosutchi's men and shinigami from the Goubantai. He decided that he best finish quickly if he wanted to please Aizen, and he silently landed in the middle of the camp startling the few officers which were not inside their tents.

"I advise you to abort whatever mission the Sotaichou gave you, this place is not safe," Ichigo calmly stated as his amber orbs gazed across the startled faces of the few men which were outside

. Ichigo relaxed his stance as he waited for their response, the wind dancing with his long locks. Ichigo's stance hunched over with raised hands when the sound of metal being drawn out of wood was heard, a barely audible snort leaving Ichigo's mouth.

"We don't take advice from hollow scum like you," a young shinigami yelled, his cocky attitude clear from the second he opened his mouth.

"Attitude will get you nowhere brat, inexperience may end up as your downfall," Ichigo calmly said eyeing the arrogant shinigami.

"To call me a brat would be to call yourself one, you look younger than me!" the shinigami hollered and smirked confidently at Ichigo.

Ichigo raised his hand and rested his fingertips on his forehead and let out an exasperated sigh, shaking his head mentally when the rest of the shinigami circled closer to him while he conversed with the hot shot.

"Look," Ichigo began but was cut off when one of the men roared and lunged for him with his zanpakuto drawn.

Ichigo snorted and sidestepped the attack chuckling when the man stumbled forward, still not used to moving in deep sand. Ichigo stood still in the spot he had sidestepped to and eyed the shinigami calmly.

"I was going to tell you I do not wish to fight, but you are apparently not going to listen to reason," Ichigo stated and took on a fight ready stance. "Come, I shall try to end you swiftly so that you may not suffer by my hand," Ichigo taunted and smirked when the young hotshot lunged for him.

Ichigo played along with the inexperienced officer and faked being pushed back, blocking blows he did not need to block and dodging moves he could have easily evaded. Ichigo didn't even wince when he purposely slipped in the sand which allowed the young shinigami to cut him across the chest.

"Hell yeah!" he roared and got excited cheers from his fellow soldiers.

Ichigo pretended to stagger and pant before he quirked his finger in a bring it movement to irk his opponents. He continued in much the same manner with a few more confident pricks before deciding it was time to lay down the hammer.

"I think I've played with you enough, Aizen-sama shall be pleased to hear that shinigami blood rained upon his lands this endless night," Ichigo said and raised his hands. Black claws grew and his fangs came forth from their hiding as he eyed the shinigami.

Without warning he struck, tearing out the throat of the cocky one with his mind, throwing the limp man across the sands and into a tent with his mouth alone. He hissed and spat out the shinigami blood, kicking the sand to cover it. His nose scrunched up at the smell of shinigami blood, his instincts rearing within him as he let a feral snarl rip from his lips. "I'm going to enjoy this," Ichigo laughed as H'tsu once again surfaced to enjoy the show together with his Aibou.

**"Shred 'em good King, I wanna see blood rain across tha barren desert,"** H'tsu cheered from within Ichigo, Ichigo willing the hollow to shut the fuck up though his pale copy of course just started ranting more.

Two more shinigami quickly followed the first, a flat palm sent straight through their hearts ending up causing their death as Ichigo skipped around easily dodging the blows aimed at him.

Ichigo grinned when he heard three shinigami chanting for binding spells and stopped moving, immediately being impaled by two zanpakuto. Blood began bubbling up his throat and exploded out of his mouth but he didn't even flinch. He just revealed white teeth covered in crimson coats through a shit eating grin as he waited for the spells to find him.

"Bakudo 63: Sajō Sabaku!" One of them shouted and Ichigo calmly let the reishi chains bind him, although they hardly restrained his movement at all.

"Bakudo 62: Hyapporankan!" A second man shouted and Ichigo grunted as the stinging poles impaled him.

"Not so tough now are you, filthy hollow!" one of the shinigami hollered and Ichigo merely rolled his inverted eyes in response.

"Come on, do one more. I won't mind," Ichigo taunted and a third man responded quickly.

"Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō!" and Ichigo was impaled by the six rod prison which Byakuya loved so much.

Ichigo chuckled at that but was surprised when he heard another chant from behind him. He craned his neck backwards, proving to the shinigami that he was not completely bound yet and found a girl kneeling while chanting. He wondered what he would be hit with next and calmly eyed the girl as he waited for her spell to be unleashed.

"Nijimidasu kondaku no monshō. Fusonnaru kyōki no utsuwa! Wakiagari hiteishi! Shibire matataki! Nemuri wo samatageru! Hakōsuru tetsu no ōjō! Taezu jikaisuru doro no ningyō! Ketsugōseyo! Hanpatsuseyo! Chi ni michi onore no muryoku wo shire!" she finished the chant and huffed, Ichigo's pupils shrinking as he recognized the words in the chant.

"Hado 90: Kurohitsugi" the girl screamed and Ichigo snarled as the black coffin rose around him.

A howl of agony could be heard as Ichigo was impaled by endless spears inside the suffocating prison. As the air went silent Ichigo was fuming inside the coffin. He was furious with himself for underestimating the shinigami. He had foolishly assumed that since none were ranked officers there couldn't possibly be any strong casters among them, and look where it had gotten him.

Even to someone of his power the Kurohitsugi was still immensely powerful and hurt like a bitch. With a furious roar he let loose the full force of his Reiatsu, and on the outside the shinigami gasped as the spell started cracking. It exploded into tiny pieces, the only parts left being the spears which still impaled Ichigo.

A pool of crimson blood surrounded Ichigo as he panted from the exhaustion of breaking the spell. He glared up from beneath the bangs of his now free hair and growled viciously.

"You just sealed your own fate," he huffed before he began stumbling forward; removing the spears of the Kurohitsugi one by one for each step he took.

When he was finally just a few feet away from the frozen shinigami he grinned evilly. He straightened his posture and cracked his neck like he had not just been impaled by endless spears and gave them a crazed smile before turning deadly eyes upon them.

"Don't even think for a second that you had the advantage," he growled before letting H'tsu heal their injuries.

"Instant regeneration!" the girl who had placed him under the Kurohitsugi gasped and Ichigo turned to smile at her.

"That was quite impressive of you young woman, I must say I didn't expect such a high ranking Kido from someone not even seated," he admitted before his eyes became dead serious again.

"I hate to say goodbye, but I need to finish this before someone comes looking for me," Ichigo said sweetly before disappearing from their view.

When he reappeared in the same spot he had vanished from, all shinigami coughed up blood and sank to their knees in disbelief. Ichigo had gutted them all in less than 10 seconds, and now he waved sweetly at them before ceroing the camp and leaving.

The little fight had proven to be a nice test of his powers and he grinned to himself. He knew he was strong but getting hit with a Kurohitsugi while bound was no joke, and it had taken a lot out of him but he had survived it none the less and had no physical marks to prove it which meant he had recovered quick enough for no scarring to remain. He was pleased with himself and concluded if he continued to train his abilities he would soon be on Aizen's level.

He smirked at the thought as he entered through the gates of Las Noches, Ferro meeting him to follow his master up to Aizen's office. Ichigo knocked once and took a break, before giving to quick raps and then followed up with two more which had a break between them to signalize his arrival. He had made the knocking code on a whim; the knocks followed the rhythm of how he shouted Getsuga Tenshou in battle. He entered and went to sit in the chair facing Aizen's desk.

"My don't you look deadly all soaked in blood my loyal Espada," Aizen said and smirked at Ichigo."I trust everything went well Kurosaki?" Aizen asked and Ichigo smirked.

"Well yes, I was surprised to find some skilled kido users within the group. I was struck by a Kurohitsugi as a matter of fact, hurt like a bitch," Ichigo admitted and winced as he remembered the pain. Aizen's eyes widened at that and he leaned forward to eye his newest solider worriedly, although the emotion did not show.

"Are you in need of medical attention?" Aizen asked and Ichigo snorted and shook his head.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. It only exhausted some of my reiatsu," Ichigo said honestly before standing up and gave a dismissing wave to Aizen before leaving the office, Ferro waiting outside for his master.

"Cirillo has prepared a bath for you in your quarters Ichigo, please go and take a good rest," Ferro announced and Ichigo smiled at the young but incredibly huge male.

"Thanks Ferro, you can leave me now," Ichigo said and dismissed his fraccion before doing as Ferro told him.

He gave Cirillo a grateful smile, the new born Arrancar leaving the room quietly after assuring himself that Ichigo had all which he needed. Tomorrow they would gather to lay down the battle plan, and Ichigo did not look forward to it in the least. With a defeated sigh he finished his bath and made his way to the bed, just about to crawl in when a knock sounded on his door.

"It opens," Ichigo called slightly annoyed that someone would want to meet him right now, but allowing entrance anyway. In came Starrk who quickly closed the door behind him with an exasperated look in his face.

"What's up with that face Coyote?" Ichigo asked and raised an eyebrow at the Primera.

"Sorry, Nelliel's on a rampage. She's been bothering me all day, demanding I play games with her," Starrk said with a frustrated tone. "Can I stay here, she doesn't know where your quarters are," Starrk asked and looked at Ichigo with hopeful eyes.

"I don't mind, I was going to sleep but make yourself comfortable in any way you see fit," Ichigo said before crawling into the bed. Starrk dragged his fingers through the brown mane which was his hair and looked around, his grey eyes finally falling on Ichigo's bed.

Ichigo knew Starrk was known for sleeping anytime, anywhere and so he invited Starrk to sleep with him on the bed. Ichigo was lying on his side, and he soon felt the opposite side of the bed dip and he moved over to make space for the Primera, Starrk snuggling close to Ichigo for warmth and comfort.

"What's the deal with snuggling up to me like a lost puppy?" Ichigo asked the man with mirth in his voice.

"I don't know, I like the warmth I guess," Starrk yawned and pulled Ichigo closer to his own chest.

"You know that's utterly adorable," Ichigo teased but got no response from the man.

Ichigo knew why when he heard soft snoring from behind him and he chuckled, relaxing into the warmth of Starrk's chest, soon joining the Primera in dreamland.

* * *

**Starrk and Ichigo are just so incredibly cute together. I ship StarrkIchigo, seriously they make a good couple XD Anyways, hope you like this. The war-planning shall start in the next chapter. Stay tuned my readers :D**

**Please do review and inspire me to update!**


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